Iain O'Brien to retire after Pakistan series

New Delhi:

New Zealand fast bowler Iain O'Brien has decided to hang his boots after the Test series with Pakistan and move to the UK to be with his wife.

"My wife lives and works in the UK and my immediate future is there," O'Brien said.

"Since we married, two and a half years ago, we have spent only nine months together. I am 33 years old and my main focus now is becoming a 'proper' husband, starting a family, settling down and securing my future in that country. Cricket has been my number one; I've placed it in front of everything else. It's now time to put Rosie first and start a family. I intend to keep playing the game I love in the UK, and have an opportunity to finish my career with Middlesex county," he added.

O'Brien, who made his Test in 2005 against Australia, said it was a tough call and he would leave with a heavy heart.

"This has been one very tough decision and I walk away with a heavy heart but I know, for certain, that I have made the right decision for me, my wife and my future," the Kiwi bowler said.

His captain Daniel Vettori said his team would miss him.

"I don't think people quite realise how much the team will miss him in terms of his bowling and the intensity and energy to want the ball at all stages," Vettori said.