Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick is to retire at the end of the summer, bringing his 27-season Somerset career to a close.

Trescothick, 43, played 76 Tests for England between 2000 and 2006 and scored 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79.

"It's been an incredible 27 years and I've loved every minute of it," Trescothick told the official Somerset website.

Trescothick added: "However, everything has to come to an end eventually. I've been discussing my future with the club and my family for a while and we felt that now was the appropriate time to make this announcement in order for both the club and I to put plans in place.

"There's still a lot of the season left, and I'll be doing everything I can to put in performances for the second XI in order to force my way back into contention for the first team."

Trescothick has scored 19,654 first-class runs for his home county since making his Somerset debut in 1993.

During that time he has scored more first-class centuries (52) and more List A runs (7,374) than any player in Somerset's history.

Trescothick, an aggressive left-handed opener, made 14 Test centuries and 29 fifties and was a member of the England side that reclaimed the Ashes in 2005 after an 18-year wait.

He was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year honours list with the rest of the England team.

But he returned home from England's tour of India in February 2006 with what was later announced to be a stress-related illness.

Trescothick, who also captained England on occasions, played 123 one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals and made his final Test appearance against Pakistan in August 2006.

He later had a stand named in his honour at Somerset's Taunton ground and has played nearly 400 first-class games in his career, scoring over 26,000 runs.

Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry said: "Marcus Trescothick is one of the finest players that this country has ever produced, and his record on the field of play speaks for itself.

"He is the absolute personification of what a professional sportsman should aspire to be."