Feb.7 – Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from international cricket.
The long-term cue ball captain has represented Australia in 254 caps across all formats, playing five Tests, 146 ODIs and 103 T20Is.
Finch led Australia in a world record 76 men’s T20Is, as well as 55 ODIs, before announcing his retirement on Tuesday.
“Realizing that I won’t be playing until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right time to step down and give the team time to plan and build for that event,” Finch told reporters at the MCG.
“I also want to thank all the fans who have supported me throughout my international career.”
Since making his international debut in a T20I against England in January 2011, Finch has amassed 8804 runs which includes 17 ODI centuries and two T20I tons.
Finch retired from ODIs in September last year but continued to lead Australia through T20s, including in their unsuccessful T20 World Cup defense on home soil.
The right-hander’s last cap was at that tournament when he scored with 63 points as Australia beat Ireland by 42 runs but failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Finch was a star of white-ball cricket for much of his time at the top level and was nominated for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade award in 2020.
He holds the record for the highest score in a T20I when he fired 172 runs from just 76 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018, an incredible strike that included 10 sixes and 16 fours.
Those innings broke Finch’s own record for the highest T20I score, which is still the third-highest in men’s T20I history, after he broke 156 from 63 balls against England at Southampton in 2013.
The 36-year-old tasted ultimate success as part of the Australia team that won the 2015 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and when he captained the T20 World Cup team in 2021.
“Team success is what you play for and winning the first T20 World Cup in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be the two memories I treasure 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 honor.”
