"It'll be sad" - Aaron Finch concedes his final professional match will be 'emotional'
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch is set to play his final professional game on Saturday, January 13, when the Melbourne Renegades take on Melbourne Stars. The opener recently admitted it would be an emotional occasion for him.
The Victoria cricketer has been part of the Renegades since the start of the Big Bash League and is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament's history. The former Renegades captain is only behind Chris Lynn with 3311 runs in 106 matches at 34.85 with a couple of hundreds.
Finch also led the franchise to their only title win in the 2018-19 leg, where they defeated a strong Melbourne Stars by 13 runs in the final. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Finch stated that Saturday's fixture would be an exception since he didn't get emotional during any of his retirements.
As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:
"I haven't got emotional around any of my retirements, which is quite strange. But maybe tomorrow I will. This has been a huge part of mine and my family's life for the last 13 years and have put as much time and effort into it as I can and, yeah, it'll be sad, no doubt. But it's time to move on and the next generation of players coming through are seriously good. So it's in good hands."
The 37-year-old retired from all forms of international cricket after the 2022 T20 World Cup. He is also the only Aussie captain to date to win the T20 World Cup.
"The title win was unbelievable" - Aaron Finch
Finch also reflected on the Renegades' title-winning season in the BBL and how they defeated a Stars side that was way ahead in the final. The veteran added:
"When you're no longer captain, I guess that's taken out of your hands a bit as well because you're not in selection. It's been difficult no doubt. It's been something that I've been lucky with throughout my career actually that it hasn't happened a huge amount of times. But to finish up here at Marvel will be really special as well. The title win was unbelievable. Especially against the Stars in a game where they well and truly had one hand, almost two hands on the trophy, and to drag it back and win that game was really special."
Finch's poor form has coincided with the Renegades' struggles this season as they are languishing at the bottom of the points table with just one win in seven matches.