Australia paceman Lee retires from test cricket

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Brett Lee, one of the fastest bowlers of the modern era, announced his retirement from test cricket on Wednesday with the aim of extending his international career in shorter forms of the game.

The 33-year-old Lee made his debut in 1999 and racked up 310 wickets at 30.81 in 76 tests, the fourth highest Australian wicket-taker of all time behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee.

"It's not the finish or the end of me. I do have a lot more cricket left in me. Test cricket has to go in order to prolong my one-day cricket for Australia," he told a media conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Lee played his last test for his country against South Africa in late 2008 and has since struggled with foot, side and ankle injuries, with the side strain robbing him of the chance to take part in last year's Ashes series against England.

"This hasn't happened overnight, it's been a long, long process," Lee said.

"My reason for retiring from this form of the game is so that I can preserve my body and continue to represent my country in the other forms of the game."

Lillee, a fellow fast bowler, was in no doubt Lee would be remembered as one of the greats of the game.

"Brett is going to go down as one of the great all time express bowlers in the world," he said.

"I congratulate him on a magnificent test career. I have known him since he was 16 and he was a fantastic bloke then and he is a fantastic bloke today."