Finch nominates options to succeed him as skipper, opener

Retired former skipper Aaron Finch says Australia should look to appoint a white-ball specialist as the next T20 captain, suggesting Travis Head and Ashton Turner were front-runners for the role.

Finch called time on his international career on Tuesday, stepping back from Australia's T20 side having already called time on his ODI career last September, after contemplating his future during the BBL.

"I think the time is right to let the T20 team move on into a new phase, particularly with a World Cup coming up in 2024," Finch told reporters at the MCG today. 

"The time is right to allow them enough time and space to allow a new captain to take over and move the team in their direction.

"The time between now and the T20 World Cup in 2024 is really important. It will be, not a transition phase, but the new leader needs time to come in and mould the team in the direction that they want to take it.

"To let them just find their own feet and find their own direction, I think, is important."

Australia's next T20 international series is not until August in South Africa, the start of a build-up to a World Cup in June next year in the West Indies and United States.

Finch suggested Adelaide Strikers skipper Head, who replaced him in the one-day side following his retirement from that format, could do the same in the T20 side, while Turner was another option to come into the team as skipper. 

"There's plenty of guys who can do it," Finch told reporters.

"Obviously Steve Smith has done it before and done a great job, Pat Cummins, I doubt whether he would want to do it with such a big workload.

"But there's guys from the outside who could come in and have a big impact.

"Travis Head, Ashton Turner, these types of guys are experienced, they know how to win as well, so whichever way they go, the team is in great hands.

"I probably lean towards a white-ball player more than anything. 

"To be able to focus on two formats as opposed to three I think will be important."

Finch played 51 of his 103 T20s alongside David Warner, as well as 83 of his 146 ODIs, revealing his opening partner had "shown his emotional side" with a tribute message from India. 

"Davey sent me a beautiful text last night – he showed his emotional side, and that was that was really touching actually," Finch said. 

"To go through (my career) with a pretty similar bunch of guys for the best part of 10 years now is pretty incredible. So I'll definitely miss all of that."

Image Id: 4B050464CD034B1B855234F37408AC89 Image Caption: Finch and Warner during Australia’s successful 2021 T20 World Cup campaign // Getty

Finch said there was no shortage of options to open the batting in T20 cricket for Australia, with Warner himself turning 37 later this year.

"There's a few guys that are putting their hand up. Obviously Travis Head, Matt Short has done brilliantly well the last couple of years and capped it off with the Big Bash Player of the Year. 

"Steve Smith ... his form is pretty good at the moment as well, he could certainly do it. 

"There's guys all around the place ... Josh Inglis, he's had a chance at the top of the order for Perth and now he's slotted in the middle order, so he's adaptable. 

"Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, there's a lot of guys that could do it, so I think it will come down to whoever gets the first opportunity. 

"If they take that, I think they could be away."

Finch will continue playing in the BBL with the Melbourne Renegades "for a couple more years", and leaves international cricket as Australia's leading men’s T20 scorer with 3120 runs at an average of 34.28 from 103 matches, 73 of them as captain.

Finch holds the world record for the highest individual score in a T20 international, his 172 from just 76 balls against Zimbabwe in 2018. 

He also has the third-highest total in history, 156 against England in 2013, the innings he rated as his favourite from a long and distinguished career.

"That's special for a couple of reasons. Obviously at the time, it was a world record, but I think that was the time that it hit me that I could actually play international cricket and be successful," Finch said.

"When you first start out, you bluff yourself a little bit into thinking that you're ready to go and it wasn't until I played that innings that I actually started believing that I could do it and that I was good enough to play against the best in the world. 

"And that was a really good attack – Stuart broad, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach was really highly rated at the time – so to do it against a quality attack as well made me believe for the first time that I was ready for international cricket."

Finch also led Australia in 55 of his 146 ODIs, scoring 5406 runs at 38.89, and played five Test matches.

"I don't ever really sit back and think about my own career a huge amount," he said.

"I try and always do what is best for the team and put the team and everybody else before myself.

"But when I do sit back and reflect on it, it has been a pretty cool journey."