Trent Johnston has enjoyed so many highs in his Ireland career that no-one will be more disappointed than the Ireland captain that he is leaving the one-day international scene on such a low.

Undoubtedly, the 3-0 series whitewash to Bangladesh played a major part in the timing of Johnston�s decision - a margin he will have taken personally - but his failure to take a wicket in his last 24 overs, while conceding 115 runs, and scoring but a single run in his final two innings will have hurt much more than the shoulder, the elbow and the ankle which were the physical signs that time was catching up on the soon-to-be-34-year-old.

In a statement, released less than six hours after Ireland�s 79 runs defeat in Dhaka on Saturday, Johnston said: �I�ve been struggling with various injuries and my body�s telling me it�s time for rest. I�ve been a bit of a passenger in the field, and it�s not fair on the rest of the team.

�I don't think I'm up to the strains of one-day cricket anymore. These three ODI's in the space of five days have nearly killed me.�

The statistics back up the now-ex-skipper�s judgement. The wicket of Aftab Ahmed in last Tuesday�s first game against Bangladesh was his 100th for Ireland but was the only one Johnston took in, what are to be, his final nine ODIs - he didn�t bowl in two of them. With the bat, he passed 30 in three of those games but he never managed a half century in his 21 ODI innings.

As his statement also confirmed, he was contemplating leaving the Ireland scene immediately after the World Cup - he said as much to me in Barbados after the game against Australia, the country of his birth - but Trent could not resist the lure of a second Inter-Continental Cup final, against Canada a month after returning from the Caribbean, especially after failing to make a significant contribution to Ireland�s first triumph, ironically, because of injury.

Figures of four for 12 in the first innings at Leicester last year recharged the batteries and kept the fire burning and that is why he is not quitting the international scene altogether.

�I do feel I�ve still got a lot to offer, particularly in the four-day format. I suppose I could still field in the slips, and I�ve been in good form with the bat, so could maybe concentrate on that aspect of my game more,� he added.

Again - and it will be statistics that Johnston is acutely aware of - the figures back up his decision. In first class cricket for Ireland, Johnston has taken 51 wickets at an average of less than 13 and scored 368 runs at better than 36 runs per innings.

Alex Cusack, another Australian, already making his mark with bat and ball, is his natural successor in the one-day team while William Porterfield, just two months after being nominated as Johnston�s vice-captain, will, almost certainly, be thrust into the skipper�s role for the Friends Provident Trophy campaign which starts in just five weeks� time.

A Cricket Ireland spokesman said: �Trent has been an inspirational captain of the Irish team for three years. We fully understand the reasons behind his decision to take a break. We feel he still has a lot to offer on the playing side.�

Johnston couldn�t influence his last ODI, a game in which Ireland were second best from the opening partnership of the match - 109 in 20 overs which set Bangladesh on their way to 293 for seven.

Despite 70 from 73 balls by Niall O�Brien and 37 by Reinhard Strydom, one of Ireland�s batting hopefuls for the future, Ireland never threatened to get close to upsetting an increasingly confident home nation who revelled in their own conditions.

After series in quick succession against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa, with Pakistan to follow next month, a home campaign against Ireland was just what the doctor ordered for Bangladesh - match-perfect to take advantage of an amateur squad, coming out of an idle winter and taking part in their first three-match series with only a four-day game against UAE as preparation.

Even a fully fit and in-form captain would have found it difficult to inspire his troops. The fact that he didn�t - he couldn�t - may have made up Johnston�s mind to quit but, short-term, it will be a body blow to this Ireland squad who must prepare to qualify for the next World Cup finals without their on-field mentor for the last 48 games.

"It�s been a terrific time to have been involved with Irish cricket, and I�ll always cherish the memories of the World Cup,� added Johnston, who will continue to play cricket for Railway Union.