Fran Wilson: Somerset's ex-England batter retires to be Gloucestershire coach

Somerset batter and England World Cup winner Fran Wilson has announced her retirement from cricket and will become Gloucestershire Women's new head coach.

The 33-year-old returned to Somerset in 2025 for a second spell, as the women's side turned professional, and scored 574 runs in 28 matches.

She previously played for the club between 2006 and 2014 and scored more than 2,500 runs in List A and T20 games.

Wilson played 64 times for England across three formats and was part of the team that won the 2017 World Cup before she retired from international cricket in 2021.

"I have decided that the 2025 season was my last and that I will be hanging up my bat - for good this time," Wilson told the Somerset website., external

"What a ride it's been, one that's taken me to all corners of the globe with England and then in more recent times back to the West Country.

"To have a locker in the changing room at the CACG [Somerset's County Ground] was beyond my wildest dreams as a young player.

"To know this opportunity is now normal for women is incredible and to have been a part of the growth of the game is something I take immense pride in."

Gloucestershire was one of 10 clubs given Tier 2 status by the English and Wales Cricket Board for 2025.

They finished bottom of the South group with one win in eight games in the Vitality Blast 2 this season and fifth in the One-Day Cup women's league 2 table, with five wins out of nine matches.

Wilson said the goal was to build "sustainable success" to allow the club to move up to Tier 1 status.

"I've done a lot of coaching alongside playing over the last five or six years, but it's really exciting to step into that journey fully, especially with Gloucestershire, a great club that I've been involved with for a long time," Wilson said.

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