Farrant, who was capped at 17 and went on to play 18 T20Is and six ODIs for England, first suffered a back stress fracture in 2022, which ruled her out for a year. She required surgery after the problem recurred the following summer and despite making a comeback in domestic cricket she had not been able to “resolve the injury and reach a sustained level of fitness” to continue playing, according to a Surrey release.
“It is with sadness that I will be stepping away from playing professional cricket,” Farrant said. “Despite all the amazing support I have received and my best efforts to overcome injury, I have come to accept that I can no longer reach the level of performance required to compete at the standard needed.
“Throughout my career, I have always given everything to every team I have represented. Not being able to perform to the high standards I set for myself, combined with the mental and physical toll of ongoing injury, has ultimately brought this chapter to a close.”
Coming through as a teenager with Kent, Farrant went on to play for Southern Vipers and South East Stars in the regional system. In 2024, she signed for Surrey under the ECB’s new three-tiered structure for women’s cricket.
Farrant helped Oval Invincibles win the inaugural edition of the Hundred in 2021, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 18 at 10.27. She was twice a winner of the Kia Super League with Southern Vipers, and also played a part in Surrey’s T20 Blast success last summer.
In 2025, she made six appearances in the Hundred and five in the Blast. But she had already begun to branch into media work, most recently as part of the ICC commentary team at the men’s Under-19 World Cup.
Emma Calvert, Surrey’s director of women’s cricket, said: “Tash has been an incredible servant to the game of cricket and an inspiration for so many young cricketers who have since followed in her footsteps. She broke onto the scene at a young age and her career has spanned the significant developments in the women’s game as it has professionalised.
“She can look back on her playing cricket with a phenomenal amount of pride, knowing that she gave her fullest every time she stepped over the boundary rope. To have dealt with the setbacks she has to had to handle has not been easy but her mental resilience to work through rehabilitation, conditioning and then to step back on the field and deliver her skills has been nothing short of heroic.
“We will miss Tash as a player and what she brought to the team through her performances but we will miss her character in our dressing room even more. On behalf of the players, coaches and staff at Surrey, I’d like to thank Tash and wish her all the very best for the future.”