T20 World Cup 2022: "There's no doubt it weighs on you" - Mark Taylor feels Aaron Finch is in a desperate situation to find form
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has stated that Aaron Finch will have to force himself into form ahead of their match-up against England at the 2022 T20 World Cup on Friday. Taylor acknowledged the pressure that comes with captaincy, but believes Finch has no choice but to find form.
Although Australia coasted to a seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka, Finch's form remained a concern as he finished with an unbeaten but laborious 31 off 42, hitting only one six.
The defending champions needed an NRR-boosting win, and they were helped by swashbuckling knocks from Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. Stoinis, who earned the Player of the Match award, scored the fastest T20 half-century by an Australian.
Aaron Finch finished with 31* off 42 balls.
Of all innings in #T20WorldCup history of 40+ balls, Finch's strike rate is the lowest. https://t.co/7Kou2zuYWL
Speaking on Nine's World Cup coverage, Taylor sympathized with Finch, who he thinks has plenty on his mind other than scoring runs. With T20 cricket not allowing a player to find form in the middle, the 58-year-old believes it's a boom-or-bust situation for the opener.
"There's no doubt it weighs on you. He's getting towards the end of his career, he wants to finish well. All these things are going on in his head, rather than just seeing the ball and hitting it.
"The other problem he's got is that T20 cricket doesn't allow you the time at the crease to find your form.
"There's two ways of getting out of a form slump, you either belt your way out of it, or you spend time at the crease until you find that form. Aaron Finch doesn't have the second option. All he can do is belt his way out of it, because that's what this game demands."
Finch, who has averaged only 13.70 in the last 18 white-ball games, was candid about his innings against Sri Lanka, stating it was poor and unusual.
At one stage, the veteran had scored only four runs off 15 deliveries and he admitted that the challenging conditions made it even more difficult to find the fence regularly.
"I think you've got to make a tough decision" - Mark Taylor
With the stakes high, Taylor hinted at dropping the skipper and feels they must find a place for Steve Smith, given the nature of the pitches. The former Aussie opener added:
"Well I think you've got to make a tough decision. If you think you can make the side better by replacing him, you've got to do that. It's a professional cricket team, and you're a representative cricket team.
"You pick your 11 best players to play for your country. I think they've got to find a spot for Steve Smith. What we've seen is the pitches are doing a bit.
"I think you're going to need a player like Smith, or Virat Kohli, or for New Zealand, Kane Williamson, who can stem the flow."
Australia's #T20WorldCup destiny is back in their own hands following Ireland's shock win over England.
@LouisDBCameron breaks down what it means in the battle to progress from Group 1 👇
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The Australia-England clash in Melbourne on Friday is a virtual quarter-final, with the loser set to be knocked out of the tournament.