Boon retires from playing for Australia

David Boon is to retire from international cricket after Australia's third and final Test against Sri Lanka, which began today in Adelaide. The 35-year-old was dropped from Australia's limited-overs team earlier this year and was not named in the squad for the World Cup.

He scored a century in the second Test against the Sri Lankans in Melbourne in December, however, and his 7,344 runs in 106 matches put him second behind Allan Border in Australia's all-time Test run-makers list, while his 21 Test centuries rank him fourth among Australians. His Test average stands at 43.71, and he has averaged a century every 8.95 innings.

Boon said he decided to retire after being dropped from the Australian one-day team before Christmas. "Anyone would be stupid or lying if they said they didn't feel some sort of pressure, but the pressure was coming from within," he said.

"It was a decision I made about six weeks ago after discussing it with my wife and family. I loved every single moment of my Australian career and it will be difficult adjusting to life without international cricket."

Boon said he plans to continue playing at Sheffield Shield level for Tasmania.