Ricky Ponting retires from international cricket

The 37-year-old, who is the second highest run scorer in Test history behind Sachin Tendulkar, will play his 168th Test in Perth on Friday.

He said,

"I haven't been performing consistently over the last 12 to 18 months," he said. "I believe now is the right time.

"This is a decision not made by the selectors, it was made by me."

"It's a decision I thought long and hard about. It was based on my output and my results in this series so far. It hasn't been what I expect of myself and certainly not the level required of a batsman in the Australia team," 

"I've said all along that I would continue to play as long as I could continue to make a contribution to wins, and I think over the last couple of weeks my performance has not been good enough to do that."

"I've given cricket my all, it's been my life for 20 years, there's not much more I can give."