Wellington: Iain O'Brien, the New Zealand fast bowler, will retire from international cricket at the end of the Test series against Pakistan to move to the UK to be with his wife and play for Middlesex.

O'Brien said the decision had been a tough one to make but that his personal circumstances were such that he could no longer keep his national commitments. "My wife lives and works in the UK and my immediate future is there," O'Brien said. "Since we married, two and a half years ago, we have spent only nine months together. I am 33 years old and my main focus now is becoming a 'proper' husband, starting a family, settling down and securing my future in that country."

"I would like to thank New Zealand Cricket for supporting me in this decision. I would also like to acknowledge Dan Vettori for his support and confidence in me in recent years, plus the boys I've been on the park with and trained with for whom it has been a pleasure to represent my country with.

I have had an opportunity to play with some New Zealand greats and I will only look back with fondness on my time spent with them on and off the park.

O'Brien took nine wickets in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan, including three wickets in the second innings in Dunedin after dislocating his finger. He has taken 67 wickets in 21 Tests and 14 wickets from 10 ODIs. O'Brien represented Leicestershire in 2009 and took 21 wickets, including a nine-for, in seven first-class matches.

He made his Test debut against Australia in Christchurch in 2005 and his best figures of 7 for 165 came in a drawn Test against West Indies in Napier last December.