OTD: Aaron Finch was born in 1986

On this day in 1986, former Australian skipper Aaron Finch was born in Colac, Victoria. The cricketer went on to become one of the most consistent players in the ODI and T20I formats. Over the years, he went from a promising domestic talent to a World Cup-winning captain, and later a respected commentator.

Finch represented Australia in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup. He made his way into Victoria’s domestic setup and soon grabbed eyeballs with his explosive batting. By 2011, he had broken into the national T20 team, and two years later, he made history with a 156 against England, then the highest-ever T20I score. He later hammered 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018.

A regular member of Australia’s white-ball teams, Finch enjoyed success across formats. His 2015 World Cup century against England was one of the memorable moments from Australia’s title run on home soil. After the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, he was given full-time white-ball captaincy in 2018. His leadership ended in Australia’s maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021, placing him among the country’s most successful limited-overs captains.

Across 146 ODIs, Finch made 5406 runs, while in 103 T20Is, he scored 3120 runs. The opener was also one of the most sought-after T20 players globally, representing nine IPL teams, starring in the BBL for Melbourne Renegades, and crossing 10,000 T20 runs. Finch retired from ODIs in 2022 and exited from international cricket in 2023, officially ending a 12-year national career. Post-retirement, Finch transitioned into commentary and broadcasting.

“It’s a great challenge. I love watching cricket. If I wasn’t broadcasting, I’d still be watching it. I hope that I can bring something to the coverage where you’re able to try and explain not just what’s happened, but explain why it’s happened – what might have forced a player to make that mistake or execute that delivery. I love turning up to games to commentate. Even coming in here [to the ESPNcricinfo studio], talking about cricket in a way that I would do if I was sitting on the couch with mates, it’s great fun. Hopefully, people enjoy it,” he said in an interview.

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