Shane Warne to retire after Ashes

37-year-old Warne said he would have retired from international cricket last year had Australia not lost the Ashes to England. Warne told a news conference in Melbourne, Australia, that it had been his "mission" to win back the little urn. The world's best leg-spin bowler played a key role in seizing back the Ashes earlier this week, taking 14 wickets to help Australia thrash a sorry England 3-0. With 699 Test wickets under his belt, Warne is poised to become the first international bowler to exceed the once-unimaginable 700 barrier when he bows out of Test cricket at the end of the final Ashes Test in Sydney next month.

Reuters | December 21, 2006

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