Australia’s veteran fast bowler, Peter Siddle, has announced his international retirement on Sunday bringing an end to his 67-match Test, 20-match One Day International (ODI) and 2-match Twenty-20 International (T20I) career.

“It’s always hard to know when the right time is. The Ashes was the main goal, to try and get on that touring party and be a part of that series,” Siddle was quoted as saying on the official website of Cricket Australia’s (CA) digital platform cricket.com.au.

“Once I’d ticked that off, I was talking to ‘Painey’ (captain Tim Paine) and JL – I thought I could have done it there, but the chance of getting one last crack if it came in Australia, to (have one more Test) at home would have been nice,” he added.

The 35-year-old, who was a part of Australia’s 13-man squad that faced New Zealand in the Boxing Day Test, said that he would continue to play domestic cricket for Victoria and will also continue his stint at the Big Bash League (BBL).

“I’m still going to play cricket for Victoria, still going to go over and play county cricket for Essex, I love playing cricket,” he said.

“So I’m going to keep playing for as long as I can. I’m enjoying myself, I love the Big Bash, and to have games like the other night (against Melbourne Stars) is pretty weird – I’d told JL the day before that I was done, and the relief of being able to go out with no pressure on my shoulders probably helped,” Siddle added.

The fast-bowler had made his Test debut in Mohali against a star-studded Indian team featuring Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman in 2008. One of the highlights of his first match was claiming the wicket of Tendulkar.

However, the most memorable moment of his career came on the first day of the 2010-11 Ashes when he took a hat-trick on his 26th birthday.

“Just being able to play, to walk out, wear the baggy green — I’d watched guys like Punter (Ricky Ponting), Steve Waugh, guys like that wear it, represent Australia,” Siddle further said.

“Every time I stepped out was amazing, I don’t think I could pick one special one. At the end of the day, to play one is amazing, to end up playing what I did is truly special,” he added.