Justin Langer has indicated the Ashes series this year could be his international swansong.
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The opener has been considering his future since he returned home from the tour of South Africa last month after he copped a Makhaya Ntini bouncer to the head that left him with concussion.
Ntini hit the left hander on his helmet behind his right ear in the third Test at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg – Langer's 100th - with the first ball in Australia's first innings, and Langer was so shaken he couldn't finish the match.
He received treatment on the field and was later taken to hospital.
"I have always said that the day you decide to retire, do it," Langer told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Don't announce it ahead of time because it will just lead to huge distractions. I can't say what the future holds beyond the Ashes."
"I would hate to say something now and it become a big distraction through something that is as big a deal as the Ashes."
"The last Ashes series really hurt. I would love to leave the game knowing that we had regained the Ashes, and the next Ashes team would have it in their possession."
Langer said a number of people he spoke with told him to quit now, following the injury in South Africa, but he has decided for the moment it is worth playing on.
"I promised that I would go away for three weeks and make a decision," he said.
"When I first came back home I thought that possibly it was the time to go. But I know that now isn't the right time."
"I don't know if that means I've got one series to go or whatever, but I know that I really want to play in the Ashes."
"It would definitely be nice to leave the game with the Ashes in our possession."
Langer has scored 7393 runs since making his Test debut against the West Indies in Adelaide in January 1993 at an average of 45.35.
