Ireland batsman Ed Joyce has called time on county career to focus on Ireland career. He will be looking to chase Ireland's Test dream soon. His stint with Sussex has come to an end. The 38-year-old had played for England when he entered into International cricket. He was part of England's side in 2007 World Cup. But then he came back to his motherland, Ireland. Joyce joined Sussex in 2009, then moved to Middlesex in 2012 for a short stint. He scored over 8000 first-class runs for Sussex county cricket club at an average of 49.39 with 23 hundreds. His career-best 250 came against Derbyshire in the last championship season. "County cricket has been a huge part of my life for the last 18 years and it is with a tinge of sadness that I've decided not to play this season or beyond. I fully intended on playing at least some cricket for Sussex in 2017 but the realities of my various injuries, alongside my playing commitments here in Ireland have meant that this isn't possible." The Irishman talked with club coach Mark Davis and captain Luke Wright on his career. Then he took his decision on county cricket career. He believes that he played his best cricket at Sussex. "When Mark and Luke asked about my availability for the upcoming Championship games, I felt the best thing to do for me and the club was to retire from county cricket altogether so we could both move on. "There's no doubt in my mind I played my best cricket at Sussex and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the coaches, players, supporters and environment at the club that allowed me to do this. I'll always feel like I'm coming home when I visit Hove in the future, which I plan to do as often as possible as a spectator. "On a sunny day in the summer there's no better city to be in, or ground at which to watch cricket," he added. With retiring from county cricket, Joyce will be concentrating on Ireland in International cricket and Leinster in Ireland's newly revamped competition. If Ireland are granted Test status by 2018, he would like to contribute as long as he can. "On the playing side, I'm still enjoying competing for Ireland and Leinster," he said. "With the prospect of Test cricket and full membership potentially on the horizon, it's an exciting time for Irish cricket and I want to play my part in this process as long as I feel I can contribute on the field," said Joyce. -Ruffin. Correspondent, bdcrictime.com