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Hauritz calls time on cricket career

Former Australian spinner packs away the kit bag after one appearance for the Renegades in BBL|05

Former Test spinner Nathan Hauritz has called time on his 15-year playing career, opting to hang up the boots after one appearance for the Melbourne Renegades this KFC Big Bash League season.

The 34-year-old played 17 Tests for Australia between 2004 and 2010 but had been without a state contract since being delisted by the myFoorDr Queensland Bulls at the end of the 2013-14 season.

He moved from the Sydney Thunder to the Renegades for BBL|05, but said he had struggled to get back to his best this summer. He played one match, against the Perth Scorchers, with the Renegades generally opting to play just one spinner in Xavier Doherty.

"I was toying with (retirement) after I played with the Thunder and found out I wasn't going back there . . . but I got an offer from the Renegades at the same time, because they want to play two spinners," Hauritz told Fairfax newspapers.

"It was really tough that I wasn't playing and training at that level anymore to get straight into it.

"I felt the pressure a lot more than I usually had. This year, I felt that if things weren't 100 per cent right - I started to feel I was done - I don't want to go through more heartache or disappointment, (just) to try and finish on a high."

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Hauritz represented Australia 78 times across all three formats - 17 Tests, 58 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals, collecting a total of 128 wickets.

His most memorable moment in the Baggy Green was during the 2009-10 series against Pakistan, when he took a five-wicket haul at the MCG and scored 75, backing it up with a second five-fer in the Sydney Test.

At state level he spent the majority of his career with the NSW Blues, before moving to his native Queensland for his final two seasons of state cricket in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

His last appearance for Australia was an ODI at Blundstone Arena in 2011.

"The highs and lows (are too much). I need to get off that up-and-down rollercoaster and get back to a bit of normality in life," Hauritz said.

"I have a lot of good memories, obviously a few bad ones mixed among them. But I'll definitely look back at my career very proud and very happy with what I achieved."

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While he has called time on his competitive career, Hauritz will still be plying his trade, scheduled to play in the Masters Champions League, a T20 tournament for retired players, in the United Arab Emirates later this month. He will line up for the Sagittarius Strikers alongside players including Adam Gilchrist, Daniel Vettori and Mahela Jayawardena.