Kervezee quits Netherlands to commit to Worcestershire

Alexei Kervezee has announced his retirement from international cricket for Netherlands in order to focus on his career with Worcestershire with a view to pushing his case for an England place.

The Netherlands board has called Kervezee's decision "extremely disappointing" and added there would be a chance for him to return in the future while the 23-year-old batsman, who had represented Netherlands in age-group tournaments since the age of 13, said it was a difficult call to make but believes he has to commit full-time to the county scene.

"It's a decision that I haven't taken lightly and have thought long and hard about over the last few months but feel at this time in my career it is right for me in order to pursue my ultimate goal," Kervezee said. "I want clarity in my mind as to what I'm working to and for, where I want to be and what I need to do to get there.

"It's always been an honour and pleasure representing Netherlands Cricket and something I never took lightly. I owe a great deal to Dutch cricket and playing for them is something that I will forever cherish, but at this point in my career I feel I need to focus on my future at Worcestershire."

Jeroen Smit, the Cricket Netherlands chairman of selectors, said: "This is an extremely disappointing day for Dutch Cricket to be losing a player of Alexei's capabilities in a crucial World Cup Qualification year.

"Peter Drinnen [the coach], Richard Cox [the CEO] and I have spent many hours in recent times attempting to persuade Alexei against this decision. Alexei has been an outstanding player for Netherlands and he knows our door is always open if his England aspirations don't materialise but for now it's time for us to move on and to pursue our stated aim of qualification for the 2015 World Cup."

Kervezee has played 49 first-class matches for Worcestershire and has an average of 32.93 including four hundreds and a top-score of 155. In his first full season in 2010 he scored 1190 Championship runs although struggled to match that return in his next two campaigns with 2012 being a particular battle as he played just seven matches and averaged 25.

Internationally, Kervezee played 39 ODIs for Netherlands with a top-score of 92 and 10 Twenty20s.