Sarah Evans announced her retirement from the Great Britain women’s programme on Tuesday after a career spanning eight years and 122 international caps.
Evans, who missed out on outright squad selection at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (reserve), will now focus on domestic hockey at Surbiton as she bids to captain the club to an eighth domestic title.
She said: “As a little girl, I dreamt of representing my country and playing sport for a living. I feel so grateful and honoured that I’ve had the opportunity to do that full-time for the last eight years.
“I have cherished each and every single time I’ve been able to step out onto the pitch alongside my team-mates wearing the England and Great Britain kit.”
She played in 10 tournaments for England, winning five medals including European silver and Commonwealth bronze.
GB coach David Ralph said: “Sarah has been an exceptional member of the squad, whose influence will be sorely missed by England and Great Britain.
“Crofty is as technically eloquent a hockey player as you can find, who always seemed to find tricky skills easy to execute and has an extremely high level of game understanding that allowed her to read the game very well.
“Her all-round ability and positional flexibility made her an outstanding team player for us in numerous positions.”
Off the field, Evans will also now focus on “bringing about greater inclusion and diversity for all in sport and society”.
