Cricket News: Why is Australia persisting with Aaron Finch?
Australia has been struggling in the fifty-over format in recent times. The team lost two consecutive series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They only managed to win against Zimbabwe by 2-1 after toiling hard on the crease. The Aaron Finch-led team is now clashing with the No 1 ODI team New Zealand in the homeland
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Aaron FinchWhile the team as a whole has been struggling and failing, the one player whose performance has been a matter of concern is Aaron Finch. The white ball captain has scored 26 runs in the last 7 ODI innings.
The last big score he achieved was during the Sri Lanka series, where he scored 62 off 85. However, he has been failing miserably in the games to follow. Against Zimbabwe bowlers as well, he could breach a double-digit score of 15 only in one game. Now facing New Zealand bowlers, he scored 5 in the first ODI, followed by a golden duck in the second to become the first Australian batter to record five ducks in ODI cricket in a calendar year.
The batter has been running in a draught of runs for quite a long time. His poor form can put his status under further scrutiny and the defending champions in jeopardy. Still, he has been announced as the captain of the Australian squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
Addressing his form, Aaron Finch sounded confident with his ability to lead the side from the front and said, “Obviously, personally, the performances haven’t been there in terms of the output of runs but I still feel like I’m a pretty good player”.
The Australian cricket board has immense faith in his leadership skills as he took Australia to their first T20 World cup title in UAE less than a year ago. His ability to lead from the front despite his lean patch earns faith from the board members. Panel chairman George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald recently reaffirmed that Aaron Finch would only lead the national team at the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
And this itself is one of the most important reasons to persist with his presence in the national team despite poor runs from his willow. Before the World Cup, Australia will have three T20I series against India, West Indies, and England after playing against New Zealand. These series will again provide a platform to regain lost touch with the bat and fetch some runs before the mega event.
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