Finn Allen

Finnley Hugh Allen, popularly known as Finn Allen, is a Kiwi cricketer born on April 22, 1999, in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. He is a right-handed batter known for his aggressive starts at the top and also for his ability to aggregate heaps of runs consistently.

Allen represents the New Zealand cricket team in international cricket and his home team Auckland in the domestic circuit. The young opener is a batting powerhouse who is primarily considered a T20 mainstay for his exploits up the order.

Finn Allen: Along the Years

Finn Allen Records

• Highest run-scorer for New Zealand Under-19 in ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 (338)

• Fourth-highest run-scorer in ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 (338)

• Joint-most sixes in a T20I innings among full-member nations (16)

• Highest individual score for New Zealand in T20Is (137)

• Fifth-most runs in a T20I innings as an opener (137)

• Fifth-highest individual score in a T20I among full-member nations (137)

Finn Allen Career

Hailing from Auckland, Finn Allen came into the limelight with his brilliant performances in the Dream11 Super Smash competition. Allen is an explosive batter who also has the added advantage of keeping wickets. His immaculate striking ability provides the perfect ordeal for limited-overs set-up, especially in the shortest format of the game.

Finn Allen Domestic Career

Since Finn Allen was a master of scoring runs quickly, he made his T20 debut before playing List-A or first-class matches. Allen received his maiden T20 cap on 3rd January 2017 in a game against Central Districts.

The wicketkeeper-batter made his List A debut against Central Districts on February 17, 2018.

Allen finally made his first-class (FC) debut for Auckland at his home ground versus Central Districts on March 09, 2018.

Allen could not impress much on his domestic T20 debut. He got an opportunity to bat at the number five position. Glenn Phillips had already scored a ton for Auckland, but Allen departed to the pavilion after scoring five runs off ten deliveries. However, he improved quickly and ended the 2020-21 Dream11 Super Smash as the tournament’s leading run-getter.

Allen has not been that successful in the longer formats. His highest score in 19 first-class matches is 79, while his first-class batting average is about 20. Notably, Allen has only recorded a single stumping in his domestic career.

Allen represented Lancashire in the T20 Blast 2021 and scored 399 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of about 160. 

He then signed up for Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast 2022 and scored 190 runs in 9 innings at a massive strike rate of 179.24. 

The 25-year-old Kiwi opener played in the second edition of The Hundred in 2021 for Birmingham Phoenix and scored 165 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 150.

In The Hundred 2023, Allen represented the Southern Brave and scored 240 runs in 9 innings, with a personal best of 69. 

In Major League Cricket (MLC), the San Franciso Unicorns signed Finn Allen in the inaugural edition in 2023. After having a mediocre first season, he had a terrific run in MLC 2024 as he smashed 306 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of a gigantic 187.73, including a crucial century against Texas Super Kings in the Challenger in MLC 2024.  

Finn Allen IPL Career

Finn Allen is yet to make his IPL debut. He went unsold in the IPL 2021 Player Auction. However, the then Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru)  Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson called him up to ask about his availability for IPL 2021 after learning about Joshua Philippe’s decision to pull out. Just before the 14th IPL season, RCB signed Allen as Joshua Philippe’s replacement.

Finn Allen International Career

Finn Allen has made himself a regular member of New Zealand’s T20I squad. He has been considered a successor of veteran Martin Guptill and would be itching to fill up the latter’s shoes in white-ball cricket. The fact that the 25-year-old can keep wickets is a boost for his national side, in an already wicketkeeper-heavy line-up.

Finn Allen ODI Career

Finn Allen made his ODI debut, after debuting in T20 internationals, against Ireland in Malahide in the first ODI of New Zealand’s tour of Ireland on July 10, 2022. He opened the innings with Guptill but was dismissed for 6 runs by Mark Adair.

In the next match, Allen scored his maiden ODI half-century while chasing a target of 217 runs. After having a mini-collapse at none for the loss of two wickets in the first two deliveries of the innings, the opener stitched a century stand with skipper Tom Latham and ensured that New Zealand edged Ireland in a quite closely-contested affair.

Allen missed out on his maiden ODI century marginally and registered his personal best of 96 against West Indies in the second ODI of New Zealand’s tour of West Indies in August 2022. 

Finn Allen T20I Career

After ending the 2020-21 Dream11 Super Smash as the tourney’s most successful batter, Finn Allen received a place in the New Zealand Cricket Team’s T20I squad for the home series against Bangladesh in March 2021.

Allen made his T20I debut at Hamilton but had a forgettable debut as he got out for a first-ball duck.

In the subsequent game, Allen struck two fours and a six during his knock of 17 runs. Allen lost his wicket on the tenth delivery. His inexperience was evident in his first two international matches, but Allen’s big hits meant that he cemented the fact that he had the potential to become a big name in New Zealand cricket and he proved that in the game’s shortest format. 

Allen smashed his maiden T20I century against Scotland in New Zealand’s tour of Scotland in July 2022. He scored 101 off just 56 balls which included 8 boundaries and six maximums. Following his magnificent striking ability, he earned a call-up to represent the Kiwis at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 held in their neighboring country, Australia. 

He replaced the veteran opener Guptill up the order and opened the innings with Devon Conway. Allen announced himself in the tournament with a quickfire 42 off just 16 deliveries at a strike rate of 262.50 as NZ defeated the hosts by a huge margin of 89 runs.

After setting NZ’s opening game on fire, he lost the plot. Barring a cameo of 32 off 18 balls against Ireland, he could not simply get going at the top as the Kiwis were knocked out of the semifinal by eventual runners-up Pakistan.

Allen smashed his second T20I century against Pakistan in the third T20I of Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand in Dunedin on January 17, 2024. Off just 62 balls, the opener smashed 137 runs which included just about 5 boundaries and 16 massive sixes, equalling the record of Hazratullah Zazai of Afghanistan amongst test-playing nations. In the process, he also eclipsed the record of former NZ skipper Brendon McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in ICC T20 World Cup 2012 to register NZ’s highest individual score in a T20I innings. 

The 25-year-old Kiwi was selected for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and had a torrid time at the mega event. In NZ’s very first game, Allen was dismissed for a golden duck by a peach from Fazalhaq Farooqi.

He scored a hard-fought 26 against West Indies, struggled against T20 WC debutants Uganda, and was again dismissed for a duck in their final group game. He could only score 35 runs in 4 innings as NZ had a forgettable campaign and crashed out in the group stage itself. 

Finn Allen Under-19 Career

Finn Allen was part of the New Zealand Under-19 squad for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018. He had a sensational outing with the bat as he amassed 338 runs in 6 innings at an excellent strike rate of 119.01 and a great average of 67.60. He scored a couple of fifties and also a century against West Indies Under-19s in the hosts’ opening game.