Aaron Finch announces retirement from the Big Bash League

The 37-year-old confirmed the news at Marvel Stadium on Thursday ahead of the Renegades’ clash with the Hobart Hurricanes and said the current season will be his last.

Melbourne: Former World Cup-winning Australian captain Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from the Big Bash League (BBL) at the end of the current season with Melbourne Renegades.

The 37-year-old confirmed the news at Marvel Stadium on Thursday ahead of the Renegades’ clash with the Hobart Hurricanes and said the current season will be his last.

Reflecting on his extraordinary career at both international and domestic level, Finch said he “loved every minute of it”. “There have been some real lows, but also some big highs, and I have loved every part of the journey. No moment compares to winning the BBL title, which was very special for me and something I will remember for a long time. I’m proud that I played my entire career at that one club.”

Finch captained Renegades for nine consecutive seasons, between Season 2 and Season 10. He is the club’s top scorer with 3311* points and is only behind Chris Lynn for the all-time highest points tally in the Big Bash League, in addition to a large number of awards.

After taking over the club captaincy from current Australian men’s coach Andrew McDonald, Finch’s impact as a leader was felt throughout the club. It reached its peak in early 2019 when he guided the Melbourne Renegades to their first BBL title in a memorable final against rivals the Stars.

Renegades head coach David Saker said: “Finchy has been an excellent servant and leader at the Renegades, it is such a rare achievement in the Big Bash to spend your career with that one club. Everything that has been successful with the Renegades, Finchy has everything to do with it.

“I first coached Finchy when he was captain of Victoria’s Under-19s and have watched him develop as a leader and person. He is a unique type of leader, very tactically aware, while basing many of his decisions on feeling, and that is a courageous thing to do on the field.”

Finch will play his farewell BBL match in the Melbourne Derby against the Melbourne Stars on January 13 at Marvel Stadium.

He currently stands as the seventh highest run-scorer in T20 cricket, with 11,458 runs at 33.70 and a strike rate of 138.21. His highest score of 172 came for Australia against Zimbabwe in 2018.

In February 2023, Finch announced his retirement from international cricket, marking the end of his illustrious career that saw him step away from ODIs at the end of 2022. A notable highlight of his captaincy was leading Australia to victory in the 2021 T20 World Cup.