ALL-ROUND star Katherine Brunt has her heart set on enhancing her already glittering career this summer, both for her county and country.

Barnsley-born Brunt, has been there, done it and bought the t-shirt.

A two-time World Cup winner, a World T20 winner in her own country and an Ashes winner, not to mention the individual honours.

However, given that Brunt has battled against a chronic disc issue in her back for longer than she cares to remember, something which ruled out her out of the World T20 in the Caribbean late last year, it would be completely understandable if she decided enough was enough at the age of 33.

But the ‘R’ word is something which has not yet reached the forefront of her mind.

And it is a good job too. Not only has she got a maiden Kia Super League crown to win with the Yorkshire Diamonds, but Australia are back for the latest edition of the multi-format Ashes, including a solitary Test Match at Taunton in late July.

“I always think about retirement,” she said. “I have since the age of 30 to be honest. But it’s just not at the forefront of my mind yet.

“I can’t deny my passion for the game, and that’s what always brings me back. It’s very hard to walk away from. I have that belief that I can achieve more. As long as I have that, I will always play.

“I’m fine now,” she continued, looking ahead to a tour of India later this month, for which the squads are due to be announced imminently.

“I started back at the gym about two months ago and have been back to bowling around a month ago.

“As it stands I’m fit for India, but we have to take every week as it comes.

“With it being a disc problem, it’s one of those injuries that you just don’t know. Something could happen at any time. I can’t ever say I’m fully fit because anything could happen.

“I’ve gone through my whole career not having had stress fractures or bone injuries, ligament or soft tissue injuries. I’ve never had injuries like that, little ones that keep holding you back. It’s just literally my back.

“It’s a degenerative disc problem where my back is dehydrated. It’s less strong and not as able to stand up to what fast bowling does to you.

“It’s kind of like a ticking time bomb and will last for as long as I want to be resilient or have enough want to play. Thankfully, I seem to be quite resilient.

“It’s very debilitating; constant pain, constant struggle and always telling yourself you are doing the right things to get through it.

“I was at the end of my tether between September and December if I’m honest.

“I had seven weeks of hell before the World T20. I was in absolute agony, was on a heck of a lot of medication and felt like giving up every day.

“You wake up every day hoping it will go away, and the day that happened was the day I landed back home from the West Indies. It was as frustrating as anything can be. The day I got back having pulled out of the tournament!

“I’m glad I was pain free, but I just wish it could have happened a bit earlier.

“These are the things that test you and make you who you are.”

Brunt admits her injury history made it hard for her to watch Sir Andy Murray talk about his debilitating hip issue at the recent Australian Open, with the Tennis legend on the verge of retirement.

And when her own retirement day does come, it may well happen in stages: “It may be that I concentrate on T20s or even do a Jimmy Anderson and just play Test Matches - one game a year,” she smiled.

For now though, this summer promises to be a mouthwatering one, as it does in the men’s game at both international and domestic level.

Brunt is particularly looking forward to that aforementioned Test Match, to be played at Taunton between 18-21 July.

“I absolutely love it,” she said. “It’s still my favourite format. It’s the worst for the body, but I still love it.

“I love playing games with the batsman and controlling long periods of play. I love the mental side that comes with it all.

“It’s a chance to put the Aussies on the back foot.”

And for the Diamonds, who finished last summer’s Kia Super League with three wins from 10 games, including home wins over finalists Loughborough and Surrey, she is hugely confident of a charge at a first Finals Day appearance.

Brunt added: “We had a couple of really good games, and it’s not like we didn’t have the ability, it’s just about finding that consistency and stringing games together moving forwards into this year.

“We were unlucky with a bit of injury and illness.

“We were also just lacking a bit at times on the bowling front.

“When everything fits together, we are a really strong side. Fingers crossed that happens this summer.”