Retiring Australian ODI captain Aaron Finch has been dismissed early in his final innings of the form.
Having lost his final toss and being sent into bat, Finch wandered to the middle of Cairns' Cazaly's Stadium seeking to put an end to his disastrous run of form.
After stating that Sunday's 3rd and final ODI in the Far North would be his last, the Victorian was no doubt feeling lighter now the inferno of speculation surrounding his future had been quelled.
And while an early LBW scare had Finch calling to the sheds upon being saved by review, the opener existentially opened up, punching a pair of stylish jabs through the covers.
Though appearing set to feel the cracks in his foundation, Finch's last stand came to a close during Blackcaps opener Tim Southee's third over following a scrambled seam delivery splaying his stumps.
In spite of the scorecard marking his afternoon with just 5 runs from 13 deliveries, the skipper was sent off in style, with the healthy crowd in the stands and embankments all rising to cheer the stubbled batter from the ground.
The end of an era.
Aaron Finch walks off to a standing ovation 👏👏#AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/gi1W6fwBpb
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 11, 2022
Sunday's outing marked the completion of a dismal summer with the bat for Finch, with the 31-year-old failing to surpass the 15-run mark in any of his six outings against Zimbabwe and New Zealand across the course of the past month.
Still, Finch bows out on his days in pyjamas having topped the tonne on 17 occasions for his nation, a figure surpassed by only Ricky Ponting, David Warner and Mark Waugh.
Finch joined his opening partner Josh Inglish in the sheds ahead of the drinks break, with the Western Australian nicking off to Trent Boult in unconvincing fashion.
At the time of writing, Australia's score stands at 2 for 17 in the 10th over.
