LONDON, May 27: Former England captain Nasser Hussain announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, three days after scoring a match-winning Test century against New Zealand.

"Age has been catching up on me - the body, the mind, the fire in the stomach and the eyes have started to deteriorate," the 36-year-old told a news conference. Hussain said he had made up his mind to retire on Sunday night. Events on Monday, when he scored a century, ran out debutant Andrew Strauss and hit the winning runs at Lord's convinced him he had made the right decision.

"It has been a major decision for me and not one that I have taken lightly, nor have I taken it in the last few days. "It is a gradual thing that has happened over months. I wasn't willing to fight against youth - I mean youth in the form of Andrew Strauss. By Sunday night I had decided my time was up.

"Monday was an incredible day, it clarified my thoughts. If someone were to give me a day for the effort I have put in since I was a young boy, it was Monday." Hussain, who plays for Essex, scored 103 not out as England won the first of three Tests against the New Zealanders by seven wickets.

He ran out Man-of-the Match Strauss, one of the main challengers for Hussain's team place, just when he seemed set to score a century in both innings of his debut.

Hussain, England captain from 1999 to 2003, played 96 Tests, averaging 37.18 and scoring 14 centuries. A right-handed batsman, he also played 88 one-dayers, averaging 30.28, but retired from the shorter game after the 2003 World Cup.

Pride played a part in his retirement decision as Hussain said he did not want to be tapped on the shoulder one day by the selectors and told he was dropped. "It (Monday) was a great day for me to do it here, to hit the final shot for four through the covers, my favourite shot, and to have Graham Thorpe, a huge friend of mine, to finish on a high.

"I don't want to hold up any young player, I don't want to be selected just because I'm approaching 100 Tests or because I'm an ex-England captain. "I'm also a very proud man and I don't want someone to come up to me and say "Sorry you're not good enough for an England shirt anymore." -Reuters