Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch quits international cricket

Aaron Finch has retired from international cricket after leading Australia to their first ever ICC Men's T20 World Cup title. Finch, a former one-day captain, retired from the 50-over game in September and used the domestic summer to decide his T20 future after Australia's World Cup title defense ended before the semi-finals. A hard-hitting opening batsman and shrewd tactician, the 36-year-old retires as one of his country's greatest limited-overs players and as the captain who led Australia to its first global T20 title in the UAE in 2021.

Finch said the time had come for a successor to make his mark at his home Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he celebrated his first World Cup victory in the 50-over tournament in 2015. "Today, fully, I think the time is right to let the T20 team move on into a new phase, particularly with a World Cup coming up in 2024," he told reporters.

Although his retirement to ODIs was preceded by declining runs, Finch had an excellent Big Bash League season, smashing 428 runs at an average of 38.9 to help Melbourne Renegades to their first T20 finals series in three years. The lanky Victorian couldn't be persuaded to stay and was looking forward to spending time with wife Amy and one-year-old daughter Esther.

"When you're on the road for 12 years at most, you're going to have some highs and you're going to go through some lows, and always having my family there to support me has been amazing," he said. "And that's always been steadfast, so I'm very grateful for that," he added.