Australia T20 captain Finch announces retirement

Australian men's T20 captain Aaron Finch on Tuesday announced his retirement from international cricket, saying he was honoured to play with some of the best in the game.

A destructive opening batter at his peak, Finch's position has been under a cloud since Australia failed to make the knockout stage of last year's T20 World Cup at home.

It was not immediately clear who would replace Victoria-born batter, who has captained the team in 76 of the 103 T20 internationals he has played since debuting against England in 2011.

"Realising that I won't be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment to step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event," he said.

The 36-year-old captained Australia to its maiden T20 World Cup victory in Dubai in 2021.

He retired as Australia's one-day skipper last September.

"To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour," he said.

Finch holds the record for the highest score in a T20 international, which he set by smashing 172 runs off 76 balls against Zimbabwe in 2018.

He also holds the record for the third-highest T20 international score -- 156 against England in 2013.

Cricket Australia chairman Lachlan Henderson said Finch was one of Australia's "finest white-ball players".

"While he was a tough competitor on the field, Aaron always played the game with a smile on his face and in the right spirit," Henderson said.

Although prolific in limited overs cricket -- he scored 5,406 ODI runs and 3,120 in T20 internationals -- Finch failed to make an impact in the test arena.

He played five tests for Australia in 2018 but was dropped from the side after failing to impress selectors.

Finch is expected to continue playing T20 cricket in Australia's domestic league.

Source: BSS/AFP