Aaron Finch "I'm glad we don't have to bowl to Babar any more for a while"

[MenInG]

Aaron Finch | Australian captain: It was certainly was, the way our bowlers attacked after the start they got, such an inexperienced attack as well was fantastic. Nathan Ellis came back well after a rough start which showed his character. Really good sign of things to come for our white-ball team. Everything we do will be with one eye on the World Cup - both in the T20 format and the ODIs.

Really proud of the entire group, we have been in bubbles and other things but the resilience shown over the couple of years has been fantastic. To see so many youngsters come into the Australian team and do well is exciting for the future.

We were happy with that, after the start they got, we know that Babar and Rizwan they are fantastic at the top of the order. Anything under 180 we were happy and Cameron Green turned it around with those wickets. Glad that we don't have to bowl to Babar anymore [smiles].

"From the Australian cricket team and everyone at cricket Australia we are very grateful for the opportunity to be the first Australian team to tour here after 24 years; What the fans have given us, what the PCB have given us and all the staff that has been around us, its been a wonderful tour and we've loved every bit of it; Thank you to the PCB and the fans - you've made it an incredibly special tour for a lot of people"

 

[IAJ]

Pakistan will never forget this Australian team which toured the country after more than two decades, so a big thank you to Cummins, Finch,CA and rest of the players and supporting staff. Many of the posters here weren't probably even born the last time Australia played in Pakistan

 

[sweep_shot]

Not surprised at this statement. Babar has had a great series against Aussies.

Without Babar, Aussies probably would've won the Test series 2-0 and ODI series 2-1.

 

[Mobashir]

Babar has surely made a mark in some of the Australians players. They seem to rate him quite highly.

 

[MenInG]

The 16th half-century of Finch’s T20I career was his best score in the format since an unbeaten 79 in March 2021 against New Zealand.

Finch was caught on the boundary with Australia needing just five more runs, before Ben McDermott hit the winning shot at the start of the last over as the tourists finished 7-163.

“I always knew that I could play a little bit so I think the most vulnerable you are in the game as a batsman is your first handful of balls,” Finch said.

“Just in the last few innings I didn’t get through that initial period.

“I always had confidence, I always had faith and it’s one of those things you go through, some lean patches at times.

“Everyone can seem to panic at times, especially as players get a bit older, people panic quicker.

“The support I’ve had from the players and the coaching staff has been fantastic.

“Against the new ball there wasn’t quite as much swing there so there was a slight tinkering with technique but nothing uncommon.”

Finch was the mainstay of Australia’s innings, but Travis Head (26 off 14 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (23 off nine) both chipped in with timely and vital cameos.

He will now head to the Indian Premier League to play with his ninth franchise after Kolkata Knight Riders signed him as a replacement for England’s Alex Hales.

After winning a hard-fought Test series 1-0, Australia stumbled to a 2-1 defeat in the ODIs, but their under-strength line-up was too strong for Pakistan in the one-off T20.

Finch sent Pakistan in after winning the toss and openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam raced to 0-56 at the end of the first powerplay.

But Cameron Green, on his T20I debut, helped stop Pakistan from posting a near-unbeatable score by dismissing Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman in consecutive balls in the eighth over.


Despite the best efforts of captain Babar Azam (66), Pakistan could never regain their early momentum, when they appeared to be on record pace.

Tasmanian paceman Nathan Ellis recovered from an early battering to cause all sorts of problems for Pakistan’s middle-order to finish with career-best figures of 4-28.

Ellis was on a hat-trick, but came up short as Australia burned a review on challenging a not-out decision for a caught-behind.

Australia handed T20I debutants to Green, Marnus Labuschagne and Ben Dwarshuis as they continue their preparation for the World Cup defence on home soil in October.

Green showed he could be a valuable back-up for last year’s World Cup hero Mitch Marsh, but Labuschagne (two) and Dwarshuis (0-42) had forgettable first outings.

After leaving COVID-19 isolation on Monday, Josh Inglis hit a promising 24 after slotting back into the Australian top-order after a breakout T20 series against Sri Lanka in February.

https://7news.com.au/sport/cricket/aussies-field-blood-three-t20-debutants-c-6346746

 

[MenInG]

Australia captain Aaron Finch said he never doubted his batting form would return after his first half century in 14 Twenty20 internationals drove an inexperienced side to victory over Pakistan.

Finch's 55 runs from 45 balls helped Australia overhaul Pakistan's 162-8 in Lahore on Tuesday to finish the multi-format tour on a high with a victory by three wickets.

"I knew I could play a bit," the 35-year-old said.

"I always had confidence, I always had faith. It's one of those things that you go through, some lean patches at times. Everyone can seem to panic, and as people get older people panic a little bit quicker."

Finch was one of only three players from the Australia team that won the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year to play in the match after COVID-19 infections, injuries and the resting of players weakened the squad.

Marnus Labuschagne, Ben Dwarshuis and Cameron Green were all awarded their T20 debuts on Tuesday but it was paceman Nathan Ellis who caught the eye in his third match with 4-28.

"Super proud of a relatively inexperienced group, plenty of lessons learned," said Finch.

Finch's team will not have long to wait to defend the World Cup with the next edition set to take place in Australia in October and November.

The captain was unconcerned that the hosts have only six T20 internationals lined up before the tournament starts, given the experience in the squad when everyone is available.

"The majority of that group will still be together so we can still talk and strategise," he said. "I don't think that that's going to be a problem."

Australia won the test series 1-0 before going down 2-1 in the one-day international series and winning the single T20 match on their first tour of Pakistan in 24 years.

"It's been unbelievable, the spirit from both teams," said Finch. "It's been some really good tough cricket but just a wonderful tour to be a part of, to be honest."

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/s...-bit-finch-emerges-lean-t20-spell-2022-04-06/

 

[PakPremi]

Some posters will claim Pakistan has bought Finch, that is why he keeps praising Babar.

 

[maqbool]

Babar is right now World No1 batter.

Kohli is finished. No other all format batsman comes close to Babar.

 

[alexjohn_tcr]

Babar is the best in the world, head and shoulders above the rest.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

In a way I'm so glad and thanks to PCB/CA for this amazing series.

Although we lost the test series. But who cares

 

[silentkiller187]

In a way I'm so glad and thanks to PCB/CA for this amazing series.

Although we lost the test series. But who cares

I think this series was about a lot more than just the result. Australia have now set a precedent that it is actually safe to tour Pakistan and on top of that they seemed like they genuinely enjoyed it , paving the way for the rest of the teams.Hopefully we have a nice home season to look forward to now.

Still would have bene nice to win , but oo well.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Babar Azam is in his absolute prime. He will have another 2 or 3 years before he becomes like Kohli and turns into a role player.

The likes of Kohli, Steve Smith and root are past their best. There is no one on par with Babar. Kane Williamson is the closest to Babar as of now.

Babar and Shaheen Afridi are the best 2 cricketers in the world at the moment. After these two, the talent falls steeply both in Pakistan and around the world.

 

[Maher96]

It’s really nice to have a Pakistani Players performance being appreciated on such a global level.

Hats off to him and his determination which definitely not easy to find that in Pakistani sportsman.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am glad we don't have to bowl to Babar Azam anymore for a while &#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56911;<br>Because you must have very very special plans to get Babar Azam out.A player to watch in cricket simply outstanding <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@babarazam258</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealPCB</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAUS</a></p>— Adam Zampa (@AdamZampa88) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamZampa88/status/1511442176936452105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is confident that technical adjustments to his batting technique can help him end his "reasonably lean patch" ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup title defence this year.

Finch managed just one fifty in four limited-overs matches in Pakistan before joining Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in April.

He then scored one fifty in five innings for the two-time IPL champions, who failed to make the playoffs.

"It's been a reasonably lean patch," Finch told reporters on Monday.

"I've been through that plenty of times in my career. At times, you go through stages where you get a heap of runs in a hurry and then go through some lean patches."

Finch said he was working on a technical aspect of his batting to get back among the runs ahead of a busy period of cricket for Australia.

"When you're worried about the ball swinging back in your front pad you can tend to open up, which then has a bit of a flow-on effect," said the opener.

"So it's just trying to get back to a little bit more square and making sure that I'm giving myself every chance to get through the first five or six balls and then in T20 or ODIs you can sort of flow on from that."

Finch will play eight limited-overs matches in Sri Lanka next month.

Australia is also scheduled to play home series against Zimbabwe, New Zealand, West Indies, England leading up to the World Cup in October-November.

"With such a busy schedule of cricket, there's a lot of time to be able to build and I suppose get back into the groove of one-day cricket especially," Finch said.

"We haven't played a huge amount of that over the last little while, so it'd be really nice to try and get some big runs and keep everyone off my back for a little while."

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...tralia-t20-world-cup-2022/article38499259.ece

 

[MenInG]

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson is concerned by Aaron Finch's recent run of form, but believes it's too late to consider replacing him for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia.

Finch has been dismissed in single figures a total of nine times from his last 18 T20 innings for Australia over the past 12 months and in that same period has made it past 50 just twice.

The 35-year-old also looked out of touch during the recent IPL as he scored just 86 runs from five hits during an inglorious stint with Kolkata Knight Riders.

On face value, it appears Finch's stocks are well on the decline and Watson is worried the experienced right-hander could be a liability for Australia at the T20 World Cup later this year if he can’t turn his recent form around.

"What I saw of him during the IPL in particular for KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), wasn’t great and it didn’t fill me with a lot of confidence," Watson told Isa Guha on The ICC Review.

"But there’s a lot of cricket leading up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and I know he will be working through it as much as he can and, for Australia’s sake, I really hope he can sort that out.

"But at the moment it is pretty glaring.

"He has got the skills and he is one of the greatest short-form batters that has played for Australia, so he can definitely turn it around, but what I saw didn’t fill me with a lot of confidence."

Watson believes Finch is focusing too much on the ball that swings back into the right-hander early in the innings and said he knows all about that issue given his own worries with that kind of delivery during his career.

"You can see that everything he is setting himself up for is to not be beaten by the ball swinging back in,” Watson noted.

"I was there, especially in Test cricket, and I knew the different things I had to work through from a technical point of view.

"But then also from a mental point of view as well, you are probably only ever looking for that ball, which means you are missing out on other scoring opportunities.

"You are setting yourself up for that ball and that ball only and that is exactly what it looked like for KKR."

But Watson said that with the T20 World Cup just under four months away, it was likely too late for Australia to consider looking for a new opener.

"The hierarchy of Australian cricket – (national selector) George Bailey and (coach) Andrew McDonald – are saying that Aaron Finch is going to be the captain for the T20 World Cup, so I would be surprised if they changed that," Watson noted.

"They are just going to have to put a lot of work in to get Aaron moving in the right direction with his technique.

"Everyone I talk to about his captaincy says they enjoy everything that Aaron Finch does on the field ... he has obviously been doing a lot right.

"I've got my fingers crossed that Aaron is able to sort out what is going on with his technique at the moment and he has got plenty of games to get it right up until the T20 World Cup."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2640408

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka vs Australia, 3rd ODI

Leading from the front

]

 

[MenInG]

Australia's white-ball captain Aaron Finch has hinted at T20I retirement for himself and a few of his aging teammates after the 2022 World Cup.

This year's edition, which takes place during October-November, will see Australia defending their crown in front of their home crowd.

The tournament could prove to be the last one for a few of the Aussie stars. Matthew Wade, who was the team's hero during the last edition, has already said that he would be stepping down from international duties after the tournament.

While talking to cricket.com.au, Finch opened up on the future of some of the aging stars in the squad, including himself. The Australian white-ball captain said it might be a full stop on everything for a few players and the tournament could provide them with a fairytale ending.

“It might be a full stop on everything (several players retiring from T20Is, including him) if it goes to plan like that. Fairy tales can happen in sports. I think, just naturally, when guys get to their mid-30s, it’s going to be that way. Davey (Warner) just keeps going; he could play for another 10 years, I think, with how fit he is and how much he loves the competition and continuing to challenge himself,” said Finch.

“It’s going to be an incredibly tough competition. We saw how brutal the format is, with South Africa winning four out of their five games at the last World Cup and still not qualifying on net run rate. It’s just so brutal that you do need a bit of luck along the way. So let’s see,” said Finch.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cr...d-cup-might-be-a-full-stop-1973745-2022-07-09