Melbourne Renegades legend and Australia's T20 World Cup-winning captain Aaron Finch retired from professional cricket on Saturday, January 13. Finch, who played for the same franchise for all 13 seasons in the Big Bash League (BBL) played his final match in the Melbourne derby against the Stars and even though he got out for a duck, his side ended up winning the match. This was the Renegades' only second win of the competition and have already been eliminated from the playoffs race, however, Finch would be glad that he bowed out on a winning note.
To honour Finch's legacy, the Renegades retired jersey No.5 and the Stars gave him a guard of honour before the former Australian captain came in to bat. Ahead of his final appearance in professional cricket, Finch on Friday, January 12 mentioned that he doesn't get emotional around his retirements but admitted that BBL has been a huge part of his career.
"I haven't got emotional around any of my retirements, which is quite strange. But maybe tomorrow I will," Finch said on the eve of his final match. "This [BBL and Renegades] 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," he added.
Stars gave a parting gift to the Renegades with probably a no-show as they will now not only need to win their final league stage game against the Hobart Hurricanes but also hope that Adelaide Strikers lose their game against the Sydney Thunder, who also have been eliminated from the competition already.
