3 best ODI knocks by Aaron Finch
On Saturday (September 10), Australia's white-ball skipper Aaron Finch decided to call time on his ODI career. He played his last one-day international on Sunday (September 11) against New Zealand in Cairns, where Australia won by 25 runs.
The right-hander will no longer play in ODIs, but he will still captain the T20I team and oversee their title defense at the T20 World Cup next month on home soil.
Finch announced his decision in a press release by Cricket Australia:
"It has been a fantastic ride with some incredible memories. 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 of those who have helped and supported my journey to this point."
Following a dry period, Finch's ODI performances were under scrutiny for some time. In 13 50-over games this year, he scored just 169 runs at a poor average of 13.0. His last ODI innings didn't produce a fairytale ending either, as he managed a score of just 5 off 13 deliveries.
Thank you, Aaron Finch 👏🇦🇺
#AaronFinch #Australia #ausvnz #Cricket https://t.co/OuBWkvCwNP
Despite the dull conclusion to his ODI career, Finch will leave with an impressive career that saw him amassing 5,406 runs at an average of 38.9 and a strike rate of 87.72.
The 35-year-old also has 17 ODI tons to his name. Among Australians, he is only behind Ricky Ponting (29), David Warner (18), and Mark Waugh (18). Finch led Australia in 55 one-day internationals, winning 31 of them.
As a fantastic ODI career came to a close, it gives us a good opportunity to take a look at his top three innings in the 50-over format.
#3 148 off 115 vs Scotland in Edinburgh (2013)
Following his record-shattering 63-ball 156 in a T20I against England, Finch continued his blistering form in the one-day format when he notched up his maiden ODI ton against Scotland in 2013.
Playing only his eighth one-day international, he was at his brutal best and made a blazing 148 off just 115 deliveries. His sheer dominance against the hapless Scottish bowlers gave a glimpse of what was to come in what would turn out to be a highly successful career.
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Aaron Finch is in elite company 🙌
More on his ODI retirement 👉 bit.ly/3Dmu6YG https://t.co/O6qPPVX2h6
Finch shared an opening stand of 246 with Shaun Marsh – the second-highest Australian partnership for any wicket in ODIs – in a clinical dissection of Scotland.
Despite Finch's incredible innings, which included 16 boundaries and seven maximums, Marsh top-scored for the Aussies with an outstanding 151 off 150 balls. The two led Australia to a gigantic score of 362 in their 50 overs.
Expectedly, the target proved to be too tough for the hosts as they were bundled out for 162, with Mitchell Johnson taking a four-fer.
#2 135 off 128 vs England in Melbourne (2015)
As co-hosts, there were high expectations from a star-studded Australian lineup as they faced arch-rivals England in their opening game of the 2015 ICC World Cup. A great start was of paramount importance in front of a boisterous Melbourne crowd and Finch provided exactly that.
Finch played a brilliant 135-run knock in 128 deliveries, kicking off what would become a memorable and triumphant campaign for Australia. He was dropped by Chris Woakes early on and England rued that missed opportunity, as the Australian opener was severe against all their bowlers.
Finch clobbered 12 boundaries and three sixes during his stay and powered his side to a strong total of 342-9. For England, Steven Finn took a hat-trick on the last three balls of the first innings, but it seemed too little and too late.
England's batters, in reply, struggled to inject any adrenalin into the run rate and faced a collapse which pushed them out of the game. They were 92-6 after 21 overs.
Mitchell Marsh did the bulk of the damage with the ball and accounted for five wickets as Australia bowled England out for 231. James Taylor scored a valiant 90-ball 98 for the visitors before a controversial decision prevented him from scoring a consolation hundred.
#1 153 off 143 vs Pakistan in Sharjah in 2019
In 2019, Finch was getting ready to lead his team in the ODI World Cup. However, he was going through a rough patch in the early months of the year. This led former Australia captain and commentator Ian Chappell to suggest that he be relieved of his captaincy.
Then, the Australian captain responded emphatically by roaring back to form in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan in UAE. He scored two hundreds and two half-centuries in the five games. Overall, Finch scored 451 runs in the series at an immaculate average of 112.7.
Following his 116 in the first ODI, Finch made easy work of the Pakistan bowlers in the second game to notch up his career-best score.
On the Sharjah surface, which is traditionally known to assist spinners, he stamped his authority on the Pakistan bowlers and provided his fans with a masterclass of batsmanship.
After opting to bat first, Pakistan put on an impressive score of 284 on the board in their 50 overs. Wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan played a crunch knock of 115 to give his side a huge chance to level the series.
#Sharjah / 2nd ODI
Another poor stuff in the field for Pakistan, Australia won by 8 wickets & lead the 5 game series 2-0, Aron Finch smashes 153*.
PAK 284/7(50) - AUS 285/2(47.5)
#PAKvAUS @TheRealPCB https://t.co/ePZODGpviX
However, Finch had other plans. In pursuit of 285, the skipper was in complete control from the very start and dominated the opposition bowlers.
He struck 11 fours and six maximums as he stitched together a match-changing 209-run opening partnership with Usman Khawaja. The Aussie skipper's well-paced innings anchored the chase for the visitors very well and guided them to an eight-wicket win with 13 balls remaining.
His incredible knock of 153 (off 143 balls) would ensure that Australia went 2-0 up in the series, which they eventually ended up winning by a clean sweep.
Though their journey in the World Cup that year ended in the semi-finals, Finch finished as his side's highest run-getter in ODIs in 2019, amassing 1,141 runs at an average of 51.8 in just 23 innings.