Aaron Finch announced his retirement from international cricket. He led Australia win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time. After Australia’s World Cup title defence ended before the semi-finals, Finch, a former one-day captain, announced his retirement from the 50-over game in September and used the domestic summer to make a decision about his T20 future.
The 36-year-old, who was Australia’s first T20 world champion in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, is a hard-hitting opening batsman and shrewd tactician who retires as one of his nation’s best limited-overs performers.
With more than 8,500 runs in all three formats of the game, including five Test matches and 146 ODIs, he ends his international career. He made his T20I debut in 2011 and went on to represent Australia in 103 games, serving as captain and helping the side win the 2021 World Cup.
The time is right to let the T20 team enter a new phase
The 36-year-old made his international retirement from the game’s shortest version known on Tuesday.
“The time is right to let the T20 team enter a new phase, to give them enough time and space to allow a new captain to take over and move in a new direction,” Finch said.
“Realising that I won’t be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event.”
Team success is what you play
“Team success is what you play the game for and the maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be the two memories I cherish the most,” Finch said.
“To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour.”
“When you’re on the road for best part of 12 years you go through some highs and you go through some lows, and to always have my family there to support me has been amazing,” he said.
“And that’s always been unwavering, so I’m very thankful for that.”
Highest runscorer in men’s T20s
With 3,120 runs, Finch has amassed the most runs for Australia in men’s T20s, placing him sixth all-time. In T20 international matches, he scored two hundreds, ending with an average of 34.28 and a strike rate of 142.53.
He was a member of the Australia team that won the 2015 50-over World Cup and amassed 5,401 runs in ODIs at an average of 39.13, with 17 hundreds.
Finch had a great Big Bash League season, blasting 428 runs at an average of 38.9 to help the Melbourne Renegades win their first T20 finals series in three years despite a falling run output prior to his ODI retirement.
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