Aaron Finch backed to remain Australian captain for upcoming World Cups
Aaron Finch has been backed by chief Australian selector George Bailey to lead his side to the upcoming T20 and ODI World Cups, despite a lean run in form with the bat.
He scored a match-winning innings of 55 against is the only T20I against Pakistan in the recently concluded series last week. It was his first half-century in more than 17 innings an possibly eased some pressure on him going into the packed 2022 schedule.
That innings came at the right time, given the Aussie white-ball captain has experienced a modest start to 2022. Prior to the knock, he had scored just 101 runs in eight international knocks in 2022.
A super win from an undermanned Australian side!
Aaron Finch finished with 55 off 44, Nathan Ellis took 4-28, while Ben McDermott hit the winning runs #PAKvAUS https://t.co/yZd6CI4yRL
He scored two ducks in the last two ODIs against Pakistan and averaged just 16 runs against Sri Lanka in the recent home T20I series.
Bailey was prepared to reaffirm his position, remaining confident Finch would continue to rediscover top form.
"Not relieved – always know it's coming with Finchy," Bailey said. "We have so much cricket from now until that T20 World Cup and the build-up to the one-day World Cup that he's got a great opportunity, and probably now a little bit of time to focus … on a couple of little technical things that he wants to work on, which is great."
His leadership assets have been heavily lauded as an important point of difference and a critical factor in the success of the Australian white-ball side. He was the 2021 T20 World Cup winning captain.
The white-ball team houses a suite of fresh faces including Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis. Bailey said the developing team is starting "some good buy-in to the way we want to play" under Finch.
With a developing ODI and T20 team, a solid leader in Finch will be crucial for Australia to replicate their Asian success in their upcoming tour to Sri Lanka. It includes three T20Is and five ODIs.
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What an amazing tour we’ve had in Pakistan. To be a part of the first Australian mens team to play here since 1998 is an honor.
Thank you to the @TheRealPCB and all of the fans in Pakistan, you’ve made it a special tour 🙏🏼🇦🇺🇵🇰 https://t.co/Ac2zc53oFB
Faith demonstrated in Finch with two-year contract extension
Finch was also given a two-year contract extension 12 months ago, demonstrating Cricket Australia's (CA) faith in its limited overs captain for the upcoming World Cups.
He was among the few players that will head into the 2022/23 season with job security despite a form slump. He experienced a similar dry patch of runs heading into the 2019 and 2021 World Cups, but returned to his best for those events
His last six ODI innings included two half-centuries and a century, albeit at the end of 2020. That, alongside a career average of just over 41 as an opener, is a walk-up stat for any one-day team in the world.
On the T20I front, an average of 34.69 across 11 years should not go astray in the minds of onlookers.
He missed the Men's Hundred draft last Wednesday, joining fellow Aussie opener David Warner and Steve Smith to go unsold for the upcoming English tournament.
It leaves extra time to prepare for his side's T20 World Cup defense in October.