Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from one-day cricket. Thorpe, who did not feature in the latter stages of the NatWest series, made the announcement after England's two-wicket defeat against India. He said he wanted to spend more time with his two children, and admitted that his body could not take playing Test cricket as well as one-day internationals.

"I have made this decision for two reasons," he said in a statement. "Firstly, in terms of keeping my body fit, it is becoming harder to do so playing both Tests and one-day internationals for England, so I have decided to concentrate on just playing Test matches.

"Secondly I want to have more time to build a relationship with my two children." Thorpe and his wife are in the process of a divorce.

His statement continued: "It is an exciting time for the England one-day team with our performances steadily improving over the past 18 months. I wish them the best of luck in the Champions Trophy, in Australia and, of course, especially in the World Cup next year."

Nasser Hussain admitted that the news was a massive blow, adding that Thorpe was the first casualty of the amount of international cricket being played.

An ankle injury ruled Thorpe out of much of the NatWest series, although having told Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher of his decision, England persisted with Michael Vaughan in the starting line-up.

"We decided it was a good opportunity to continue with Michael in the side," said Fletcher, "and let him gain further valuable experience in one-day cricket."

Thorpe played 82 one-day internationals, and though he never made a century, was the nurdling linchpin of the side almost from the moment he made his debut in 1993. He averaged 37.18, with a top score of 89.

"Graham has been a fantastic one-day player for England and we will miss him," said Fletcher, "but we look forward to him continuing as a key player in our Test match side."

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