Australia v New Zealand: All the latest news and analysis for the first ODI in Cairns
There’s one way for Aaron Finch to stop the speculation about his form and inspire himself and his teammates, writes Ben Horne. Have your say on the Aussie skipper.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Aaron Finch could ease the pressure mounting on himself and teammates by immediately declaring the World Cup his swan song tournament for Australia.
The speculation around the captain’s international future is starting to become a major headache for Australia, but by publicly announcing he will retire after this World Cup in seven weeks’ time, Finch can prick the balloon and take much of the tension out of the room.
For everyone – teammates, selectors and coaches – but mainly himself.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald said on the eve of this New Zealand ODI series in Cairns that Finch needs to “clear his mind”.
The best way the 35-year-old can do that at this stage might be to give himself the certainty, and the inspiration, that he only has one final quest to conquer.
Watch South Africa’s Tour of England. Every ODI & T20 Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Lay it all on the table that defending the Twenty20 World Cup trophy he played such a huge role in claiming is his last Everest to climb before stepping aside – and then it becomes a goodwill mission teammates and the Australian public can rally behind.
It’s not a silver bullet for his form struggles, and he will still need runs in the T20 warm-up games to avoid scrutiny, but it’s the clearest path to the mental clarity he and the team needs before the intense pressures of tackling a World Cup on home soil.
As it stands though, CA has wanted to back Finch to box on as captain until the 2023 one-day World Cup in 12 months’ time, and Finch told News Corp’s Peter Lalor last month that he wasn’t even thinking about an end point to his career.
“I don’t want to think about it,” Finch said.
But by drawing a line in the sand now about his future, he can cut himself a break and simplify the path ahead.
In these 50-over matches against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, where opening the batting is a more nuanced and challenging ask, Finch has unfortunately been digging himself a deeper hole – when the fact is his T20 form this year has actually been decent.
There are seven warm-up T20s to come against India, West Indies and England where Finch can remove the shackles that come with his responsibilities as an opener in one-day cricket, and enjoy the freedom of just having one speed from ball one and hit for the fences.
That’s why Finch needs to forget ODI cricket and put to bed any notion he might battle on to the 2023 World Cup in India.
All that matters is defending a T20 title on home soil and Finch might find enormous comfort in simply locking himself into that sole purpose.
The fact is Finch’s role as captain at this upcoming T20 Word Cup should not be underestimated.
How to set the field in tough situations, how to marshall his bowlers and make sure the opposition knows and feels that Australia is an intimidating force in white ball cricket.
Finch has been a great of Australian white ball cricket and, as a leader appointed in the wake of Sandpapergate, he has been a strong and successful figure who deserves recognition for his critical role as captain.
That is why selectors have backed him in for this World Cup, but a tipping point has arrived because Australian cricket is built on picking the best players first and the captain second.
When a captain wobbles, so does his ship, and Finch’s form is starting to cast a shadow over the whole team following two alarming batting collapses against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
But if Finch can end the conjecture and set himself for one final hurrah, he has a proven record in stepping up when it counts.
Aussie Great’s concession on Finch use-by date
Mark Waugh believes selectors will have no choice but to tap Aaron Finch on the shoulder if he can’t immediately arrest his alarming form slump, but Cameron Green took some heat off with a signature matchwinning knock against New Zealand in Cairns.
The young-all-round star overcame extreme all-body cramp in his calves, hamstrings, groin and forearms to get Australia over the line for a two-wicket win in the first ODI with a superb unbeaten 89 not out in the tropics.
Adam Zampa (13 not out) also played an enormous role in getting the home side out of jail when they lost 3-5 in 13 deliveries with 26 runs still to get, but Green revealed he was almost forced to retire hurt after a five-minute stoppage where trainers were desperately trying to stop him from completely shutting down.
“Oh definitely. I couldn’t really walk for a sec there,” said Green.
“Credit to Zorb (Zampa), he was the finisher in the end. It was nice to be down the other end watching him go about it.”
Green and Alex Carey (85) engineered a brilliant Australian rearguard after the hosts were 5-44 early, but Finch was out lbw for 5 to bogey man Trent Boult, the fourth time in as many innings the opener has fallen cheaply to left-arm quicks.
The embattled Australian captain would have to retire from international cricket to not play the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup having already been picked in the squad.
But Waugh, a former national selector himself, fears Finch’s struggles are coming to a head unless he can fire in the final two ODIs – a giant headache with the Twenty20 title defence on home soil just six weeks away.
“Selectors have shown a lot of faith in him and given him a lot of leeway as well,” Waugh said on Fox Cricket.
“At some stage, if he keeps failing in this series, I think the call has got to be made, sooner rather than later.
“I know it’s tough, but you can’t last forever. Everyone has a used-by-date. No matter how good a player you are.
“ … Two more games to go in this series, he might come out and bat really well. The selectors will be hoping like hell he does that, because this could easily affect his T20 World Cup coming up as well.”
Australia was in big strife chasing 232 in the first ODI, before a superb partnership of 158 from 166 balls from Green and Carey set a new sixth-wicket partnership record against New Zealand and turned the game on its head.
Carey looked at home moving back to No.6 after battling at No.4 against Zimbabwe last week, while Green just continues to blossom as a superstar of international cricket.
Most pieces are fitting together for Australia 12 months out from next year’s 50-over World Cup, but Finch’s career is now well and truly on the ropes.
Finch has averaged just 14.08 in ODI cricket this year and, unless a big score arrives on Thursday or Sunday against the Black Caps, it’s almost impossible to see how he can continue in the 50-over format beyond this week.
However, the question is quickly becoming what does Finch’s current plight mean for the rapidly approaching Twenty20 World Cup?
Australian coach Andrew McDonald and national selector George Bailey have made it clear Finch has their unequivocal backing – and he cannot be dropped anyway now the squad has been locked away.
Finch has three T20 internationals in India later this month, and then two games each against the West Indies and England before the World Cup launches on October 22 at the SCG against Boult and the Kiwis.
That’s still plenty of time to find some confidence, and at least in the T20 format Finch has the freedom to just swing at everything from the very first ball and if he falls, his wicket should have less bearing on the team’s fortunes than when he’s opening in a 50-over match.
Lowest ODI batting average for an Australian opener in a calendar year (minimum 10 innings):
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) September 6, 2022
14.08 - Aaron Finch, 2022
16.68 - David Boon, 1989
23.81 - David Boon, 1990
24.16 - Michael Slater, 1994
24.38 - Graeme Wood, 1982#AUSvNZ
Waugh and fellow Fox expert Brad Haddin were full of praise for the Victorian’s captaincy and tactics as he marshalled Glenn Maxwell’s (4-52) overs to perfection, and the importance of his leadership can’t be underestimated in the T20 XI, particularly so close to the Cup starting.
But the problem is Finch is digging a deeper hole with every 50-over match he plays at the moment, and his modest record against Boult and New Zealand, combined with a difficult batting pitch in Cairns, is not a great recipe for fighting out of a slump.
Aussies insist Finch form not a distraction
Steve Smith insists Aaron Finch’s form slump is not a distraction for the team, as he praised the Australian captain’s manful demeanour under pressure.
Finch knuckled down for a longer than usual net session in Cairns on Monday in a bid to get his mind clear and feet moving before his tropical interrogation continues against New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting on Tuesday.
During an infamously long form slump in 1996-97, former Test skipper Mark Taylor was renowned for staying positive and upbeat around the team and Smith says Finch too has not let his personal struggles affect his captaincy.
Finch is fighting to save his ODI career and more immediately build some self-confidence leading into next month’s Twenty20 World Cup.
But Smith says the rest of the team is not carrying Finch’s burden.
“No I don’t think so. Everyone is pretty chilled and worrying about their game and how they can contribute,” Smith told News Corp.
“That happens in any format. There can be certain players that aren’t performing as well as they like, so you try and just get on with it and do the best job you can for the team.
“(Finch) has been super chilled. He’s been doing a terrific job and all the guys are comfortable.
“We’ve got a really good environment at the moment and guys are in a place to go out there and play their best cricket. We’re all comfortable.
“He’s got the backing of all of us and the support staff with the way he’s training and preparing, so no doubt he’ll turn it around soon.”
Finch said ahead of Tuesday’s first ODI that he had taken plenty out of an arduous net session where the conditions forced him to stay on his toes and focus — a decent simulation of what might face him when the world class Trent Boult and Tim Southee charge in for the Black Caps in Cairns.
Australia are in familiar territory in the sense Finch’s form and fitness was also an issue going into last year’s Twenty20 World Cup — which they went on to win.
Smith said Finch and the team can take confidence from that triumph.
“Absolutely, he got himself into the tournament last year and played some pivotal knocks throughout,” Smith said.
“I think there’s no real reason why he can’t do it again. Particularly with the Twenty20 World Cup being in Australia. He knows those conditions exceptionally well. He’s been a class player for a long time and hopefully that class comes out.
“He’s been hitting the ball nicely in the nets. It feels like he’s in a good place mentally.
“We know with Aaron he’s been class up top for a while now and you don’t just lose that overnight.
“We all go through these periods in our careers and it’s coming out the other side that’s the most important.”
Finch said the net conditions in Cairns were tricky — which was just what the doctor ordered in his current predicament.
“They’re challenging the nets which is always nice to be able to practice in those conditions because it makes you feel as though you have to be really precise with your movements and really precise with where you’re hitting the ball,” Finch said.
“It was a really good, long hit. Probably longer than I generally have the day before the game. But obviously not having the time in the middle recently lends itself to more training unfortunately.”
Analysis: Battle royale looms at the MCG
A potential Cameron Green sized hole has left Aussie selectors with a huge headache. And after having their first look at how to solve it, it’s now even more unclear, as a 19-year-old and a veteran both made monster hundreds.
Test hopeful and teen star set Shield alight
The national selection chief was in Sydney to watch a rising star carve out a maiden century as Victorian Test hopeful also opened the Sheffield Shield season in style.