Under siege Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch expected to retire from ODI cricket today

Australian limited overs captain Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

Despite leading the Twenty20 World side to World Cup victory in 2021 and recent ODI series wins against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, the under siege skipper has faced increased scrutiny over his personal form opening the batting.

In his last 11 ODI innings Finch has only managed 146 runs at 13.3 including four ducks, while at Twenty20 World level he has made a more acceptable 252 runs at 28.

 Now he has stepped aside to let the new skipper have plenty of time to prepare for the ODI World Cup to be held in India in 2023.

‘It has been a fantastic ride with some incredible memories,’ Finch said.

‘I have been extremely fortunate to be part of some brilliant one-day sides. Equally I have been blessed by all those I have played with and the many people behind the scenes.

‘It is time now to give a new leader the best possible opportunity to prepare for and win the next World Cup. I thank all those who have helped and supported my journey to this point.’

Australia will play New Zealand in the third and final match of their ODI series in Cairns on Sunday and Australia will then have seven Twenty20 international warm-up games before hosting the World Cup.

It shapes as his last ODI in Australian colours, although he is expected to play on at Twenty20 level including at the October World Cup in Australia. 

While there have been plenty of calls for Finch to stand down, this week he found an ally in former captain Michael Clarke who said dropping the skipper now would only cause ‘more chaos’ on the eve of the World Cup on home soil.

‘It’s a tough time to change your captain a month out before the World Cup,’ Clarke said.

‘I think the selectors are hoping he can get a score and then he goes into that World Cup with confidence, we keep our structure and our plan for the World Cup and we dominate that and have success here in Australia.

‘He needs runs, there is no doubt about it… you can’t drop Finchy out of the World Cup squad now that it has been selected. I’m assuming they’re looking at the one-day cricket different to the Twenty-20, so even if he makes no runs in this last one-day, that might be the end of his one-day career but I think they’ll certainly still start with him in the Twenty-20 World Cup.

‘It’s a massive call to drop your captain a month out from a World Cup. I think that could cause more chaos.’

Kane Williamson of New Zealand and Aaron Finch of Australia at the coin toss during game one of the one day international series between Australia and New Zealand

Spinner Adam Zampa, who took a maiden ODI five-wicket haul in Thursday’s victory, said there were mitigating factors.

‘It’s tough (but) we’re backing him to get through it,’ he told reporters.

‘Obviously, we have the bigger goal in mind and that’s to win trophies. We’re all kind of working through different things to make sure we’re at our best for the World Cup.

‘The conditions here have been particularly tough going for the top order … it was really hard to score. I don’t think to single Finchy out at the moment is quite fair.’

Despite his lack of runs, Finch took three catches and played his captaincy role with aplomb on Thursday as the home side successfully defended a tally of 196.

‘There’s never been any doubts about Finchy’s leadership,’ Zampa added. ‘He’s really calm out there and his decision-making has been excellent.’

MORE TO FOLLOW