Australia’s Aaron Finch climbs to top of the world from depths of self doubt
Aaron Finch, a centurion in Australia’s win over Sri Lanka, has revealed the subtle changes that took him from being unsure of his place in the side to leading it to the summit of the World Cup ladder.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Match report: Finch and Starc seal victory
- Warner’s classy gesture to injured net bowler
- Anderson urges Poms to leave Warner alone
- Proteas keep slim World Cup hopes alive
Aaron Finch says he had to shed a summer of self-doubt to rediscover the brutal form that helped catapult Australia to the top of the World Cup ladder on Sunday.
Finch revealed a change in mindset and a tightened technique were behind his stunning form reversal, which has seen his recent ODI average morph from 7.4 runs to 73.1 in 2019.
“I started to doubt my game a lot in the Australian summer, and there was a lot of times when I was just questioning every single decision that I was making, whether it was technical, mental or physical,” Finch said.
“Everything that I was doing I was questioning. You’re looking for an answer and you don’t know what the answer is.
“So it can be really tough at times.”
OUT OF THE ASHES: Finch doesn’t expect Test call soon
CENTRE OF ATTENTION: Gayle’s bowling steals the show
Finch feared he would be axed before the World Cup but at the halfway mark he leads the tournament with 343 runs and has been hailed as the standout captain.
Finch’s 153 (132) against Sri Lanka was his equal-highest score and the equal-highest score of the World Cup, along with England’s Jason Roy.
While Finch has been dismissed between 100-108 runs seven times in his career, he was thrilled to convert his 14th ODI ton into a monster.
“There’s been a few technical things I’ve worked on that are just working at the moment,” he said.
“And I changed my mindset a little bit more than anything. I was just going back to the basics, going back, doing a little bit of mental work on changing my mindset to just be positive.
“Andrew McDonald always says to me, ‘If you get caught at mid-on or you get caught at first slip, you’re still out, so play your natural game’.
“It’s been nice to get a little bit of positive reinforcement.”
Finch batted until the 43rd over, sharing a 173-run partnership with Steve Smith (73 off 59) that ranks No. 1 at the tournament.
“Smith’s first 10 balls, 20 balls, he’s very intense,” Finch said.
“Non-strikers usually stand on the wicket as you get a bit more grip when running between wickets.
“But you’ll notice when Steve starts his innings you get pushed further and further wide. He doesn’t like to have anything in his way.
“But once you start to get into the partnership and the partnership starts flowing … he relaxes and you have a little bit of banter in the middle, which is quite nice.”
While Finch was pleased at his summer learnings he said “it would’ve been [nice] to have that at 22 and not 32”.
Australia travels to Nottingham on Sunday and will also be given Monday off, with plenty of players set to relax with a round of golf.
“We’re happy where we’re sitting, but definitely time to sit back and assess where we can improve and what we can do over the next couple of weeks to give ourselves the best chance to be standing on the Lord’s balcony on the 14th of July,” Finch said.
Young gun’s remarkable Shield statement
It took some early luck, but a teenage opener is doing all he can to bolt into Australia’s Test squad against India.
Aussies rocked as Green eyes summer-ending surgery
Australia’s plans for the summer have been blown to bits by the news they will likely be without star all-rounder Cameron Green for their five-Test series with India.