Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will retire from all forms of cricket in October.
The 38-year-old called time on his international career in December but has continued to feature in a variety of domestic competitions and is currently playing for Surrey.
After the end of that deal he will compete in the Champions League with his Indian Premier League franchise the Mumbai Indians before retiring for good.
There have been suggestions that Ponting could be persuaded to don the Baggy Green again this summer for one final Ashes assignment, especially if Michael Clarke's back injury affects his participation in the series, but today's news appears to make that possibility even more remote than it already was.
Ponting celebrates his superb century at Old Trafford in 2005
Ponting told the Daily Mail website: "While I'm enjoying my cricket as much as ever, it just feels like the right time to finish playing.
"My body and mind are in great shape and I know I'm going to really enjoy these last few months before the next stage of life begins."
He played in, and later captained, Australia sides who were the envy of international cricket and his career total 13,378 Test runs places him second on the all-time list behind only Sachin Tendulkar, amassing 41 Test centuries in 168 caps.
As skipper, he led his country in 77 Tests and won a remarkable 48 - though English fans will not need reminding that he also captained his country in three Ashes defeats.
He also appeared in 375 one-day internationals, scoring 30 hundreds.