London, August 28: Former England captain Mike Atherton on Tuesday announced his retirement from both international and first-class cricket at the end of this season.

The Lancashire batsman made the last of his 115 Test appearances at The Oval in the crushing fifth Test defeat against Australia on Monday.

In a statement, Atherton, who captained England a record 54 times, said: "The Oval Test match was my last for England and I now intend to fulfill my commitments with Lancashire before retiring from cricket at the end of the current season.

"I have enjoyed 15 wonderful years in cricket and would like to thank all the players and staff I have been involved with at Lancashire and England since I first came into the professional game."