Ali Brown announces retirement

Nottinghamshire batsman Ali Brown has confirmed he will finish his 22-year career at the end of the season having suggested last summer that this would be his final campaign.

Brown, who joined Nottinghamshire from Surrey in 2009 and helped them to the Championship title last season, drifted out of the first team earlier in the summer with the county putting their faith in younger players. If Brown doesn't play another first-class match he'll finish with 16,898 runs at 42.67 alongside more than 11,000 List A runs, which makes him one of the most successful domestic players not to have earned a Test cap.

He did, though, enjoy a brief one-day international career of 16 matches which began in 1996 when England were searching for a hard-hitting opener. Brown scored a century against India, at Old Trafford, in his third game but struggled after that and finished with an average of 22.12 after his last outing in 2001.

On the county scene, however, he continued to be a consistent scorer even if the returns did dip somewhat from their highpoint and he contributed 863 runs during Nottinghamshire's successful 2010 Championship campaign. Brown's one-day career was highlighted by two double centuries; the first his 203 against Hampshire in the Sunday League in 1997 and then his 268 against Glamorgan, at The Oval, in 2002.

"I always believed that the day my age exceeds my batting average it would be time to consider calling time on my career," Brown said. "I've made a lot of lifelong friends at Trent Bridge and The Oval. I've had a very enjoyable career at two great clubs and I've managed to win Championships at both of them which is something I could only have dreamed of when I started my career.

"I'm available for all selection until the end of the season and hopefully I will have an opportunity to turn out for one final match at Trent Bridge."

Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, said: "I knew that we were signing a quality player when Ali became available and although it was clear that he was in the twilight of his career, he has made a big contribution here and will be remembered for his efforts in helping to win the Championship last season. He has an awful lot to offer to the game and I'm sure his coaching ambitions will benefit from the perspectives he has gained throughout his career."