T20 World Cup Australia selection news: Aaron Finch won’t play unless hamstring is ‘100 per cent’

Having played himself back into form, Aaron Finch is racing to be fit for Australia’s do-or-die clash with Afghanistan — and he has made a key concession on his fitness battle.

Aaron Finch says he’s prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice if it will save Australia’s faltering T20 World Cup campaign from ruin.

Despite having no guarantee he will ever get the chance to play for Australia again, Finch says he’s willing to step down from Friday’s must-win clash against Afghanistan if it will help the team.

Battling a hamstring strain, Finch’s chances of playing in the game have been left up to medical staff after he underwent a fitness test at Adelaide Oval on Thursday but the Aussie skipper says he’ll make the tough call himself if that’s what’s needed.

“100 per cent. If I don’t feel confident in my hamstring then I won’t play,” he said. “If I feel any pain or anything like that, I won’t play.”

Finch still desperately wants to play in the match because if he does pull out and the team loses, his distinguished international career could end with him watching from the sidelines.

One of Australia’s best-ever white-ball players, the 35-year-old deserves better than that but the defending world champions have found themselves in serious danger of missing the semi-finals heading into the final round of group matches.

Finch says he won’t hesitate for a moment to put the team’s best interests ahead of his own.

“If I feel like it 1% would be compromising the side‘s performance I won’t play,” he said

“And everyone‘s on the same page, to be fair.

“It‘s a fine line. The medicos are unbelievable at their job. So whatever they decide or whatever they think that I need to do I’ll do it to the best and if I can’t, I won’t play.”

Aaron Finch and George Bailey watch over Australian training.

To advance, the Australians need to beat Afghanistan at Adelaide Oval and hope that either New Zealand or England lose their last pool games.

If their opponents don’t slip up, the Aussies will have to thrash the Afghans by a massive margin to elevate their poor net run rate, but that comes with a high risk.

Although he was man of the match in Australia’s win over Ireland on Monday, Finch has been struggling to score quickly from the outset, which is partly why he’s unselfishly contemplating falling on his own sword.

With Tim David also in doubt because of a similar injury, it’s highly unlikely the selectors would want to risk two players for such an important match, particularly when they have a fully fit Steve Smith and Cameron Green both available to take their places.

“I‘m sure that there’ll be 20 different combinations with bat and ball and we’ll go with whatever we feel is the best matchup for Afghanistan,” Finch said.

“We still have to earn the right to be able to push for a net run rate because the last thing that you want to happen is you push too hard, you compromise the two points. .

“And then potentially something happened in the Sri Lankan England game and you leave yourself vulnerable.

“But yeah, there‘s obviously some scenarios that we need to keep an eye on throughout the game that if we get in a good position, that we can maximise that.

“The reality is we‘ve put ourselves in this position where we can’t really wait for second chances or rely on other teams.

“You‘ve got to go out and try and do it yourself. If that means that I don’t play, I’m perfectly comfortable with that.”

Tim David undergoes a fitness test in Adelaide.

COLD-BLOODED CALL COULD END FINCH’S CAREER

Could England’s stunning T20 World Cup win over New Zealand be the tipping point that finally ends Aaron Finch’s Australian international career?

That’s the cold-blooded predicament facing Australia’s traditionally ruthless selectors ahead of Friday’s final group match against Afghanistan at Adelaide Oval.

The Aussie skipper is already in serious doubt for the match after tweaking his hamstring in Monday’s win over Ireland, but if he’s passed fit, the selectors will still have a tough call to make.

They can either stick with Finch – and hope that he can suddenly improve his sluggish run rate – or bite the bullet and call up either Steve Smith or Cameron Green.

With Australia teetering on the edge of an early exit after falling to third place in the group standings following England’s victory over the Kiwis, there are no second chances if they make the wrong call.

Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey knows there is no room for sentiment because the stakes are so high and he admitted as much, saying he won’t rush things and wants to give Finch as long as possible to prove his fitness before a decision is made.

Aaron Finch may have played his last game for Australia. Picture: Patrick Hamilton/AFP

Finch and Tim David – who is also nursing a hamstring strain – both went through a series of training drills on Wednesday to test their fitness while Marcus Stoinis, who was also in doubt, has already been cleared to play.

Bailey said a final decision on their availability would be delayed until closer to the match but that was no guarantee either would be picked because the circumstances had changed so dramatically.

“There’s a bit going on in this game now. We’ll obviously work through a few scenarios around net run rate and what that looks like,” Bailey said.

“It’s that (their fitness), combined with the situation that we find ourselves in, in terms of what we might need to do in the game.

“Just at the fundamental level, Afghanistan are a very strong side and you need 11 fit and firing players to defeat them.”

Finch has been under intense pressure to keep his spot in the team because of his slow run rate.

He rewarded the selectors for the faith they showed in him with a man of the match performance against the Irish but that was before England’s win over New Zealand.

Unless the Poms or the Kiwis slip up in their last pool games, the only way Australia can make the playoffs is if they wallop Afghanistan by a huge margin – which means there’s no room for any slouches in the top order.

Bailey was brutally honest when he said the Australians only had themselves to blame for the mess they’re in after getting hammered by New Zealand in the opening match but said they had to keep looking forward.

“I don’t think we’ve probably put a complete game of T20 cricket together this tournament yet,” he said.

“First and foremost, we need to win the game. I don‘t think you want to get too carried away with anything else other than that at the outset.

“But we will be aware of what we need to do if we need to press the button.

“There’s a lot that still remains out of your control. I just think we have to go in flexible and open minded. I think we’ve got a team that’s got talent, but if they need to put the foot down and do something special they’ve got it in them.”

George Bailey has several tough decisions to make. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty

If Finch is left out, his chances of playing for Australia again seem slim after he already announced he was stepping down from the one-day team.

Bailey said Finch had not made any decision yet about his future but paid tribute to his contribution to the team over a long time.

“I think his playing record speaks for itself. He‘s got records in both formats that are pretty enviable,” Bailey said.

“It’s been a real luxury that we’ve had a white ball captain who’s been so solid across both formats for a number of. That’s a credit to Finchy to be able to hold that together.

“I think it’s hard to talk about someone’s contribution til they’ve actually made the decision to finish up, then it sort of comes to light.”

Originally published as T20 World Cup Australia selection news: Aaron Finch won’t play unless hamstring is ‘100 per cent’