BLAKE BINT looks back at Aaron Finch's best performances in an Australia shirt following his retirement from international cricket
On February 7, Aaron Finch confirmed his retirment from T20I cricket, bringing an end to his international career.
The batter, who made his Australia debut back in January 2011, earned five Test caps for his country but is far better known for his white-ball exploits, making 146 ODI appearances and a further 103 T20I appearances.
He retires as the holder of numerous records, including being Australia's leading run-scorer and appearance-maker in men's T20Is, while in 2021, he captained his country to T20 World Cup glory in the UAE.
Blake Bint takes a look at his most memorable performances for Australia down the years...
172 v Zimbabwe, 2018 - the highest individual score in a T20I
During a tri-series in Zimbabwe in 2018, featuring the hosts and Pakistan, Finch made history when he posted the highest ever individual score in a T20I (men's or women's), surpassing his own men's record (but more on that later).
Finch batted for the entire innings bar the final two deliveries, when he was eventually dimissed hit wicket off the bowling of Blessing Muzarabani.
The Australia captain's 172 came off 76 balls while he also shared a 223-run opening stand with D'Arcy Short, itself the second-highest partnership in any position in men's T20Is (Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani put on 236 for the first wicket when Afghanistan faced Ireland in 2019).
Australia closed on 229 for 2 before restricting Zimbabwe to 129 for 9 to secure a 100-run win.
Finch en route to his maiden Cricket World Cup century, scored against England in 2015 [Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]
Australia went on to win the World Cup in 2015 [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]
135 v England, 2015 - Finch's maiden Cricket World Cup century
Under the captaincy of George Bailey in his first Cricket World Cup, Finch faced England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - his home stadium.
In just the second match of a home World Cup, Australia's must-win game came early on in front of a packed-out crowd.
Finch opened the batting with David Warner and stayed in the middle for over two-and-a-half hours on his way to 135 from 128 balls - his sixth ODI century.
His knock laid the foundations for Bailey and Glenn Maxwell to score half-centuries of their own as Australia closed on 342 for 9 and later went on to record an 111-run win.
Finch picked up the player of the match award and scored a further 145 runs as Australia captured the title.
153* v Pakistan, 2019 - Finch's ODI high score
In a year of four ODI centuries for Finch this was the pick of the bunch.
Heading into the second ODI of five against Pakistan with a 1-0 lead, the then-32-year-old scored 153 not out from 143 balls, anchoring the innings as Australia successfully chased 285 in 47.5 overs.
A strong opening stand of 209 with Usman Khawaja set the tone before Maxwell and Shaun Marsh played second fiddle to Finch as he saw his side home with a great captain's knock.
In the form of his life in Pakistan, Finch scored 451 runs from five innings.
Finch scored his ODI high score against Pakistan in Sharjah [Francois Nel/Getty Images]
Aaron Finch following his record-breaking century against England in 2013 [Phil Gilham/Getty Images]
153 v Sri Lanka, 2019 - another Cricket World Cup century
Finch couldn't quite break the 153-run mark as his best ever ODI score, falling for the same score against Sri Lanka at the World Cup in England.
Opening the batting as captain, Finch dominated with the bat for Australia at The Oval, with 15 fours and five sixes in his 132-ball innings.
An important game in the context of Group A, Finch took charge when no one else did. Warner and Khawaja struggled at the top but Finch's partnership of 173 with Steve Smith, coupled with Maxwell's 46 not out later in the innings, helped Australia to 334 for 7.
He finished the tournament with 507 runs at 50.70, including two centuries and three half-centuries - second only to Warner among his teammates - as Australia reached the semi-finals.
156 v England, 2013 - his other record-breaking T20I century
Following an unsuccessful Ashes tour (they lost 3-0), Australia were after revenge in the white-ball series. Finch, in his first game on English soil and just his seventh T20I, certainly left an impression.
In the first T20I in Southampton, Finch took a shine to every England bowler, scoring 156 runs from 63 balls, including 11 fours and 14 sixes to help his side to a mammoth total of 248 for 6. Unsurprisingly, Australia defended the total, winning by 39 runs.
In doing so, Finch broke the record for the highest individual score in a men's T20I, surpassing Brendon McCullum's knock of 123 against Bangladesh just 12 months prior - Finch's 156 remains the third-highest score in men's T20I history.
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