Former captain and leading Ireland batsman Angus Dunlop has retired from international cricket due to escalating work commitments and will therefore not be available for selection for the World Cup qualifying tournament in Toronto next July.

The announcement will come as a blow to the prospects of Ken Rutherford's national side who are aiming towards qualification for the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2002.

Dunlop has been capped over 100 times for Ireland, with one third of those appearances being as captain. Since his debut against the MCC in 1990, he has played some remarkable innings not least a fine century against the touring South Africans in 1998 and his highest score (and the sixth highest ever by an Irish player) of 150 which he hit against Scotland in Ayr this year.