Former England pace bowler Ed Giddins may have to return to selling Christmas trees again after announcing his retirement from first class cricket on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old, capped four times, took the decision to quit after failing to fully recover from shoulder and knee injuries and told his county side Hampshire for whom he had played just three times this season that he could not attain the level of fitness required.

"I like to think I have set high standards in fitness throughout my career and I wanted to avoid a public deterioration in my performances," said Giddins, who had a year-and-a-half of his 50,000 pounds a year contract to run.

"It has become more and more

difficult to maintain those standards I set and I felt it only fair to Hampshire and myself to bow out now. I have enjoyed playing for all four of my counties," added Giddins,

whose best Test figures were 5-15 against Zimbabwe at Lord's in 2000.

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It was at the first of his counties Sussex that he first made the headlines, but for all the wrong reasons, as he tested positive for cocaine which led to a ban and his spell as a Christmas tree salesman.

Warwickshire, however, took him up once the ban had been lifted and then he moved on to Surrey, but left them prior to this season when they said they could only promise him one day matches owing to his injury problems.

Hampshire manager Paul Terry said he fully respected the decision.

"Over his career his record speaks for itself and places him among the best of the last decade but sadly we saw only glimpses of his quality," Terry added.

Giddins, who took 478 first-class wickets, joins Pakistani great Wasim Akram in leaving the county this season though Akram was replaced by Sri Lankan left-armer Chaminda Vaas last week.