Aaron Finch known around the world as an aggressive opener batsman, Aaron Finch is a hard-hitting batsman and a finisher. Starting as a middle-order batsman, Aaron Finch proved as an opener every time he got an opportunity and finally started playing as a regular at that position.
Three years after representing his country in the 2006 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Finch made his international debut against England. Over the years, Finch has been sought out by many teams in the Twenty20 leagues around the world. In 2018, he was made the captain of the limited-over Australian teams. He captained his side in the 2019 ICC World Cup.
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Finch holds the record for the highest individual score of 172 runs in T20I and is also the highest individual score by an opener and a captain. He is also the first batsman to score a 150 in a T20I inning. He also holds the record of scoring the most number of fours by a player in a completed T20I innings with 16. In 2015, Finch became the first batsman to score 100 runs in the Big Bash League.
In 2012, Finch was named the Big Bash League player of the year. In 2014, he was awarded the Men’s T20I Player of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony by the Cricket Australia.
Based on his performance for the Colac West Cricket Club, Finch was selected for the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. His maiden first-class century came in the 2009/10 season against Tasmania. In 2012, Finch captained Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash League and was the League’s player of the year. Two years later, he joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club. In 2015, Finch became the first player to score 1000 runs in the Big Bash League.
Finch has played for many teams in the IPL over the years. He was first bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2010. The next year, he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for a sum of 300,000 USD. Two seasons later, he was picked up by Pune Warriors India.
In 2014 and 2015, Finch played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians respectively. In 2017, he was bought for 150,000 USD by Gujarat Lions. The next year, he was picked by Kings XI Punjab and was relieved before the 2019 season. Finch gave the 2019 IPL season a miss to prepare for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Finch was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2020 edition of the IPL. The right-handed batter played as an opener for his team, scoring 268 runs in 12 matchesIn 2022, Finch represented the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He scored only one fifty out of five matches and was hence dropped from the playing eleven.
Finch made his T20I international debut against England cricket team in 2011. Two years later, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka. In 2013, he scored 156 runs off 63 balls in a T20I, the highest ever T20I individual score. He was selected for the 2015 World Cup side and scored a century in the first match against England.
In 2017, he was named as the stand-in captain of the side for the first ODI against New Zealand in Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and continued to captain the team throughout the series. In 2018, Finch broke his previous record of the highest individual T20I by scoring 172 runs against Zimbabwe. With this feat, he also became the only batsman to score 150+ runs twice in T20I cricket. This was also the highest individual score set by a captain in a T20I inning.
Finch’s Test debut came against Pakistan in 2018. In 2019, he was made the captain of his national side for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The first time Aaron Finch represented his national team in Test cricket was on 7 October 2018 against Pakistan. In his debut match, he scored an impressive 62 in the first innings and 49 in the second one.
Then, in the next match against Pakistan, Finch scored a total of 70 runs. His following series was against India in December 2018. Finch was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the first match against India. In the next innings he scored a mere 11 runs.
Then, in the following match, Finch scored 75 runs, including a half-century in the first innings. The next match was also Finch’s last Test match. He managed to score only 11 runs which led to him getting dropped from the Test team.
Aaron Finch made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 11 January 2013 at the MCG. Finch managed to score only 16 runs in his first match. Few months later, Finch announced himself in international cricket by scoring 148 in an innings against Scotland in his 9th ODI match. His performance against India in October was splendid. He scored 190 runs in six matches, including 2 half-centuries.
In January 2014, Finch went up against the English team. He scored two centuries in five matches. A match later, against South Africa, Finch brought up his fourth century. Next, Finch played a series against the Proteas in November. He scored 250 runs in five matches, including a hundred and a fifty. In February 2015, Finch was included in the Australian squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
He scored 135 in the opening match against England. Finch played another seven matches in the tournament in which he scored a total of 145 runs. After the World Cup, Finch played a three-match ODI series against England in which he scored two half-centuries.
In 2016, Finch played a five-match series against India in which he scored a couple of half-centuries. Next, he played a tri-national series against West Indies and South Africa. Finch managed to score only 167 runs in the 7 matches that he was a part of.
Then, he scored a couple of centuries against Sri Lanka and South Africa but he seemed out of form. In September 2017, he played three ODIs against India. He played a couple of important knocks, scoring 124 and 94 in India. His next series was against England in 2018, in whcih he scored two consecutive centuries. Later, in November 2018, against the Proteas, he scored 57 runs in three matches.
In 2019, Finch played a few series against India and Pakistan before playing in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. Finch played 8 matches against India, out of which, he was dismissed four times by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Then, he went on to play against Pakistan. In five matches against Pakistan, he scored a whopping 451 runs, including two consecutive centuries and two half-centuries.
In the 2019 World Cup, Finch was appointed the Australian captain and played in all the 10 matches. He scored 507 runs in the tournament, including two hundreds and three half-centuries. His next series after the World Cup was against India in January 2020. He scored a century in the first match in India. Then, he went to South Africa, where he scored 101 runs in three ODIs against the Proteas.
In November 2020, India visited Australia for a three-match ODI series. Finch scored a century and two half centuries against the Indians. After the resumption of cricket matches post the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, Finch played a series against Pakistan.
He struggled to perform in the three matches, scoring 23 runs in the first one and then getting out for a duck in the next couple of games. His most recent series has been against New Zealand, against whom he failed to make even a single double digit score.
Finch played his first T20I match on 12 January 2011, against England. He scored 12* runs in his debut match and 53* in the following game. Next, he featured in a match against India in February 2012, in which he scored 36 runs off 23 balls.
In 2013, in a match against England, Finch scored 156 runs off just 63 deliveries, registering the highest-ever score made by a batter in T20I cricket back then. Finch was selected in the Australian squad for the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup.
He scored 158 runs in the four matches during the tournament. Then, Finch played a three-match series against South Africa, against whom he scored a total of 91 runs. After suffering an injury in the 2015 edition of the IPL, Finch did not play any T20Is in 2015.
He made his comeback against India in January 2016. Finch scored 44 in the first game and 74 in the second game. Next, he played a couple of matches in the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, under Steve Smith’s captaincy.
In 2017, Finch played in only a couple of series against Sri Lanka and India, respectively. In a tri-nation series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in July 2018, Finch created the record for scoring the most runs in a single T20I innings.
He scored 172 runs off just 76 balls against Zimbabwe. Then, he played a couple of series against Pakistan and India, in which he struggled to score runs.
In 2019, Finch scored his first half-century, against Sri Lanka. Next, he played against the visiting Pakistani team in November. Finch scored 106 runs in the three-match series against Pakistan.
His next series was in 2020, against the Proteas. He scored 111 runs, including a half-century, in the three T20Is in South Africa. In September, Finch visited England for another three-match T20I series. Finch scored 125 runs in the series, at a strike rate of 147.05. Then, in 2021, New Zealand played five-matches against Australia in which Finch scored a couple of half-centuries.
Next, he visited the Caribbean for a series against the West Indies. In the five matches, Finch scored 127 runs, including one half century. And, in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, Finch led the Australian team to a maiden T20I World Cup trophy. He performed poorly in the tournament, scoring a mere 135 runs in seven matches.
In 2022, Finch first played a five-match series against Sri Lanka. He scored only 78 runs in the series. Then, in June 2022, Finch visited Sri Lanka for another T20I series against them. Finch scored 114 runs in the three T20I games, including a half-century.
Next, he went up against India for a three-match T20I series. He struggled to put up big scores, scoring only 60 runs in batting-advantageous pitches of the subcontinent. After scoring a half-century against the West Indies in October, Finch has struggled to perform with the bat.
Aaron Finch was born to Gary Finch and Sue Finch in Colac, Victoria, Australia.
