Inzamam quits Pakistan captaincy

A distraught Inzamam following the death of Bob Woolmer

Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq has announced his retirement from one-day cricket and will also stand down as Test captain.

The 37-year-old, who made his debut in 1991, will play his 378th and final match when Pakistan complete their campaign against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

It has been a turbulent few days for the captain, with the team's failure to qualify for the Super Eight phase and the tragic death of coach Bob Woolmer.

"I talked with my father on the phone and decided to retire," Inzamam said.

He will continue to play Test cricket but will relinquish the captaincy.

He said: "I am very happy with the support I have received over the last three or four years as captain.

"I don't think it will really be a big challenge to find a replacement for me," he said.

"We have some good senior players and players with a lot of experience. They will do better than me and achieve greater things than me."

Inzamam, who is playing in his fifth World Cup, has endured a wretched series of results at the tournament in recent times.

After the 2003 tournament in South Africa when he scored only 19 runs in six innings, he was dismissed for only a single against minnows Ireland on Saturday, which led to his team's shock three-wicket defeat.

The burly Pakistan figurehead, speaking on Saturday night before the death of Woolmer, described that loss, and the team's elimination from the tournament, as "the worst day of my cricketing career".

It was in his first World Cup, aged only 21, that he enjoyed one of his finest moments in international cricket.

Batting at number five in a team captained by Imran Khan, his 42 from 35 balls helped Pakistan defeat Graham Gooch's England in the final in Melbourne.

He has scored 11,702 ODI runs at an average of 39.53, with 10 centuries and a remarkable 83 fifties.