Aaron Finch Captaincy Record - ODI, T20Is

One of the most impactful Australian white-ball cricketers of the modern-era, and one of the leading LOI openers post 2010, Aaron Finch has been one of the better white-ball leaders that Australia have ever produced.

Having taken over the job of both ODI and T20I teams' in October 2018, Finch's era saw Australia witness several glory moments, none better than their maiden World Cup triumph in the shortest format of the game in November 2021.

Here's a look at Aaron Finch's captaincy record in both ODIs and T20Is:

Aaron Finch captaincy record- ODIs

Aaron Finch was appointed Australia's ODI skipper in October 2018 following a tumultuous 6-month phase for the then world champions after star batsman Steve Smith was stripped of leadership duties from all three formats besides being banned for 12 months for his involvement in the Newlands Sandpaper scandal.

Prior to Finch, Cricket Australia appointed Tim Paine as the ODI skipper but a 0-5 drubbing in England meant that the Tasmanian keeper was replaced by the swashbuckling opener.

In the absence of Smith and David Warner, Finch endured a difficult start to his captaincy tenure as he presided over home series defeats against South Africa and India during the summer of 2018.

But, he, and his team managed to turn things around in the nick of time ahead of the 2019 World Cup by beating powerhouse India in India, 3-2, before drubbing Pakistan 5-0 in the UAE.

With Warner and Smith returning to the side after completing their term of suspension, the Aussies got even more strengthened for their title defence in the UK.

Finch (507 runs @ 50.7) and Warner (647 runs @ 71.88) spearheaded Australia's World Cup campaign, where the defending champions thumped eventual winners and hosts England in the group-stage, before eventually bowing out of the competition in the semis following a heavy defeat to the latter.

Finch also led Australia to an impressive series win over England in England in the summer of 2020, but with his form waning big time, and his focus shifting solely towards the T20 World Cup on home soil, the opener announced his retirement from the format in September 2022.

Overall, Finch spearheaded Australia to 31 victories (6th most by an Aussie) in 55 ODIs and his Win % of 56.36 remains the 5th best by an Australian skipper, who has led the side in at least 30 games.

Aaron Finch captaincy record- T20Is

One of the 6 captains to lift the T20 World Cup, Aaron Finch was appointed Australia's leader in the shortest format of the game in October 2018 ahead of the tour of the UAE.

Finch endured a disastrous start as Pakistan thumped the Australians 3-0 in the Emirates nation. He also went on to lose a one-off T20I on home soil to South Africa before barely managing to draw the series against India thanks to rain.

The tied changed during the 2019 tour of India, where the Aussies thumped the Virat Kohli-led unit 2-0 to inflict a rare series loss on the Men in Blue.

With strong performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan during the home summer of 2019, Australia, under Finch, emerged as the team to beat in the 2020 T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to take place Down Under.

However, thanks to the global pandemic (Covid-19), the World Cup was eventually postponed.

Australia suffered series defeats to England (away) and India at home in 2020, and it was followed by 1-4 drubbings in the Caribbean and in Bangladesh in the summer of 2021, casting serious doubts on their chances for the showpiece event, which was scheduled to take place in the UAE.

However, in a tournament which was heavily affected by dew, Finch went on to win 6/7 tosses, including the ones in the semis and in the finals, and the rest was done by his power packed batting line-up-led by 'Player of the Tournament' David Warner and 'Player of the Final', Mitchell Marsh as Australia clinched their maiden title to stun the cricketing world.

Even though he led Australia to their maiden T20 WC title, question marks continued to hover on Finch's place in the side thanks to his extended lean patch with the bat.

However, the selectors stuck with their World Cup-winning skipper for their title defence on home soil.

The defence did not start well for Finch as the home side got thumped by 91 runs in their campaign opener by New Zealand at the SCG.

Finch's struggles with the bat reached its nadir during the following game against Sri Lanka as he crawled his way to an unbeaten 42-ball 31* even as Australia eased to a 7-wicket win thanks to a blistering half-century from Marcus Stoinis.

Australia will face England in another must-win game at the MCG on October 28, 2022.

Irrespective of what happens from hereon, Finch's stature as Australia's greatest T20I captain is all but confirmed.

Note- Stats are updated as of 27th October 2022