MICHAEL Hussey has made the shock decision to retire from international cricket.

Hussey will play his final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3. He will also play the one-day international series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies.



The 37-year-old told Cricket Australia his desire to spend more time with his family was his primary motivation for announcing his retirement.



"I was quite excited to tell them (children) that I'm not going to go away and play for Australia any more," Hussey said.



"They were happy, but not as excited as I thought they were going to be. So it was a bit of a shock."



Hussey has scored 6183 runs at 51.52 from 78 Tests. He has also represented Australia in 185 one-day internationals and 38 Twenty20 internationals.



Usman Khawaja is likely to replace Hussey in the Test batting line-up.



Hussey was a central plank in Australia's plans for the forthcoming tour of India and the 10 Ashes Tests to be contested over the next 12 months.



His retirement means Australia will field a new-look top order that includes Phil Hughes, who replaced Ricky Ponting after he too retired after the third Test against South Africa earlier this summer.



Hussey said any Test match is a stressful experience, but admitted next week could be different.



"That’s one thing about playing for Australia, there is always a lot of stress and pressure to perform," he said.



"I feel like I can come into this last Test match with no pressure whatsoever.



"I can just really go out there and enjoy it.



"It will be nice to be able to sit back when it’s all finished and really reminisce over some fantastic memories and great wins for Australia."



Hussey refused to reveal who he had chosen as his replacement as the team song leader.



"I have made up my mind and I haven’t told him officially yet, I want to keep it to myself until I have spoken to him," he said.



MIKE HUSSEY RETIRES

Age: 37

Born: Perth, Western Australia

Left-hand middle-order batsman, right-arm medium-pace bowler

TEST RECORD:

Matches: 78

Runs: 6183 runs (12th highest for Australia)

Average: 51.52

Hundreds: 19

Fifties: 29

Wickets: 7 42.71

Test debut: Australia v West Indies at Brisbane, November 3-6, 2005

