Last updated on .From the section Cricket

Brett Lee in action for Australia in 2008

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has announced his retirement from cricket.

He quit internationals in July 2012 external-link as his country's fourth-highest Test wicket-taker - with 310 in 76 matches - and has focused on Twenty20 cricket in recent years.

Lee, who took 380 one-day international wickets, made the announcement at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

"It's been an amazing and emotional 20 years and I've enjoyed every single moment of it," said the 38-year-old.

He will see out the remainder of the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers - which could mean his final game coming next Thursday against Sydney Thunder.

Only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee took more Test match wickets for Australia than Lee, who was nicknamed Bing.

He remains the joint leading wicket-taker for Australia in one-day internationals alongside McGrath.

"I'm excited and emotional, certainly happy that I've made the right decision," Lee added.

"I didn't bother doing the maths but 20 years is a lot of ice baths, a lot of training sessions, a lot balls bowled and a lot of flights - but it's given me so many great memories."

Lee was a central figure in the Australia sides that dominated world cricket in the 1990s and 2000s, and won the World Cup in 2003, as well as three of the four Ashes series he took part in.

"He has been an exceptional cricketer who gained fans around the world, not only for his electrifying pace and performances with the ball, but [for] the way that he played the game," said Cricket Australia external-link chief executive James Sutherland.