AUSTRALIAN off-spinner Nathan Hauritz has retired from competitive cricket.

The 34-year-old played 17 Tests for his country as well as 58 Odis and three t20s, making his Test debut against India in 2004.

He last played for his country in an ODI against England in 2011 and played just one match for the Melbourne Renegades in the current Big Bash League.

And that one game, where Hauritz bowled two overs for 29 runs, figured heavily in the bowler’s considerations for retirement.

Hauritz said: “I was just so shattered after the game. I realised I hadn’t come down here to be that disappointed about a game of cricket anymore. I thought ‘I don’t need that anymore’. I just want to get away.

“The highs and lows [are too much]. I need to get off that up-and-down rollercoaster and get back to a bit of normality in life.

“I have a lot of good memories, obviously a few bad ones mixed among them. But I’ll definitely look back at my career very proud and very happy with what I achieved.”