Former Australian captain Aaron Finch, who plays for the Melbourne Renegades in the current BBL season, will retire from the competition. The current season is the 13th edition of the Big Bash League.
Earlier today, the Renegades won their first game of the 2023-34 BBL season. They chased 178 needed for victory against Adelaide Strikers. Finch did not play in today’s game and watched his team win its first game from the sidelines.
Between the match, the Channel 7 presenter asked him: “Is this officially your last season of Big Bash?”
Most likely so: Aaron Finch on his retirement from BBL
Finch with his response hinted that this could be his last season in the BBL. “Most likely yes, I would say most likely yes,” was Finch’s response.
.@JaseRicho – “Is this officially your last season of Big Bash?”
Aaron Finch – “Most likely yes, I would say most likely yes.”#BBL13 pic.twitter.com/mLzvaNC3KZ
– 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 29, 2023
Talking about the match, batting first, the Adelaide Strikers posted 177/6 in their 20 overs. D’Arcy Short scored 54 and Chris Lynn scored 56 to take the Strikers to a competitive total. Lynn was very attacking in his innings as he hit four fours and four sixes during his knock. For the red team, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was earlier sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, took three wickets. Peter Siddle and Will Sutherland took a wicket each.
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Renegades’ chase was led by Jake Fraser-McGurk, who scored a quickfire 70 off just 37 balls. Shaun Marsh scored 54 off 33 balls. This happened after Quinton de Kock bagged a duck. Joe Clarke, after a good start, retired injured, taking some of the momentum out of the Renegades’ innings.
Adelaide Strikers’ left-arm pacer David Payne took three wickets for 37 runs. Jamie Overton, Cameron Boyce and James Bazley took one wicket each, but the Renegades won the match in 18.4 overs.
“We didn’t want to risk it (Joe Clarke retires injured). Shaun Marsh knows how to chase – having someone like that to stabilize the middle order is huge for us. I have always had a slight confidence in myself since the beginning of my career. “The fortunes are starting to change a little bit now, I hope it stays that way, I enjoy hitting sixes,” said Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was named Man of the Match.
Aaron Finch’s impact as a leader was immense for Australia and the Melbourne Renegades. In early 2019, he led the Melbourne Renegades to their first BBL title in a famous final with rivals the Stars, and in 2021, he led Australia to a inaugural T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
He retired from ODI cricket in September 2022 after 146 matches (including 17 centuries) and the following month became the first Australian player to reach 100 T20 internationals.
Overall, Finch has played 104 innings for the Renegades scoring 3311 runs at a strike rate of 131.28 and an average of almost 25. He hit two hundred and 26 fifties in the BBL with a best of 111.
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