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Renegades star Finch takes leave from BBL

3 minute read

Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch has taken leave from the Big Bash League bubble after a gruelling few months on the road in quarantine hubs.

AARON FINCH of Victoria plays a shot during the Sheffield Shield match at MCG in Melbourne, Australia.
AARON FINCH of Victoria plays a shot during the Sheffield Shield match at MCG in Melbourne, Australia. Picture: Robert Prezioso/Getty Images

Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch has taken leave from the Big Bash League bubble.

Finch, who leads the Melbourne Renegades, has headed home to Victoria and will miss Saturday's BBL clash against the Hobart Hurricanes at Blundstone Arena.

But the Renegades have a week off after playing the Hurricanes, meaning Finch will only miss one game as he has made himself available for their next match against Sydney Thunder on December 26.

The star opening batsman has been bunkered down in hubs non-stop since Australia's tour of England in September.

After Australia's successful ODI series win, Finch headed straight to the Indian Premier League to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Upon returning from Dubai, the 34-year-old was immediately back leading Australia in ODI and Twenty20 matches against India.

Finch played in the Renegades' opening two BBL games, including the record 145-run smashing at the hands of the Sydney Sixers.

His opening partner, fellow veteran batsman Shaun Marsh, will captain the Renegades in Finch's absence.

Marsh said the Renegades had moved on quickly from the horror defeat to the Sixers, with the dramatic collapse largely coming about because they tried to chase the new 10-over bonus point.

"Once we lost a few early wickets, that was certainly the plan," Marsh said.

"Sometimes these things happen in T20 cricket. Hopefully it doesn't happen again for us in this campaign.

"It's a unique situation now with the new rules, you can go for those bonus points. It just didn't work out for us."

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