In his words, the hard-hitting Otago batsman was "chucked into red ball cricket" shortly after making the Volts squad and never really took to the game.
The 23-year-old much prefers playing cricket at a high tempo and unleashing his dazzling array of attacking shots.
The idea of standing in field for days or letting the ball go outside off just does not appeal.
It was not how he wanted to play the game, so he quit.
He made the decision towards the end of last season.
"It had been on my mind for a while," Finnie said.
"I finally decided that I’d speak up and start heading in the direction that I kind of wanted to go.
"When I first made the Volts, you kind of just get chucked into red ball cricket. But it was never really something I’d enjoyed.
"For someone with a pretty short attention span, standing out in the field for up to 150 overs sometimes can get quite tough.
"And white ball cricket kind of demands a fairly different technique to one that would thrive in a four-day game."
Finnie’s instincts had served him well, but suddenly he was trying to train that out so he could develop a technique which would allow him more success in a format he did not enjoy.
It just did not make sense.
"I felt I was tracking away from the white ball game by spending time training for red ball stuff.
"I’ll never cancel the idea of playing [first-class cricket ] again but I’d rather spend my time on a format I want to fully thrive in.
"If it was any other job and you weren’t enjoying it, you’d try to find something else to do.
"So why is it, just because it is cricket, you feel like you are obliged to do so?"
Raising the issue was difficult to begin with, but Finnie said everyone had been supportive of his decision.
It also meant a pay cut. But Finnie said he was not playing cricket "for the money side of things but because it is an awesome thing to be able to do and a pretty amazing lifestyle".
He has a photography business which is doing well and "it’s a nice wee escape from the game as well".
Finnie hopes the extra time he can devote to training for white ball cricket will serve him well this season. He made a strong start in club cricket at the weekend, flogging a rapid half century for Carisbrook-Dunedin/Kaikorai.
He swatted seven sixes and two fours during a brutal knock of 64 not out from 36 balls.
