Former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann announced his retirement from first-class cricket here on Monday.

Lehmann,37, told a press conference that injures were the deciding factor in ending a 20-year playing career which yielded more than 25,000 first-class runs for Australia, South Australia, Victoria and English county Yorkshire.

He denied that he had been asked to quit by the South Australian Cricket Association and became emotional when mentioning the support of his wife Andrea and family during his press announcement.

“I think I’m still playing well enough at this level, but the injuries are just getting too much, it’s getting harder to get out of bed in the morning to start with,” Lehmann said.

“I’m looking forward to it (retirement), looking forward to watching the boys play.”