New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum announced Tuesday he will retire from international cricket in February, ending one of the sport's most colorful careers.

The 34-year-old McCullum will become the first cricketer to play 100 consecutive Test matches when he takes the field in New Zealand's first Test against Australia in Wellington from Feb. 12. McCullum is expected to make the second Test of that series -- starting in Christchurch on Feb. 20 -- his last match for New Zealand.It is likely that McCullum, one of the world's hardest-hitting and most innovative batsmen, will also play a limited role in New Zealand's forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and will miss next year's Twenty20 World Cup.

"I would have preferred to wait until after the Test in Christchurch to make this news public," McCullum told a news conference Tuesday."However, the schedule for naming the ICC World T20 squads means I could not have managed this without causing a lot of confusion and speculation -- something I was keen to avoid."I've loved my opportunity to play for and captain the Black Caps but all good things have to come to an end and I'm just grateful for the wonderful experience of playing for my country."

McCullum, who is expected to be replaced by 25-year-old batsman Kane Williamson, hopes to continue to make a full contribution until his final match.