T20 Australia v New Zealand: Selectors back Aaron Finch to captain squad

Aaron Finch admits he has had an ‘absolute shocker’ in the BBL this season, but selectors are backing him to skipper the T20 New Zealand tour. Here’s why.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 12: Aaron Finch of the Renegades bats during the Big Bash League match between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers at Blundstone Arena, on December 12, 2020, in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Aaron Finch’s disastrous Big Bash League campaign has had little baring on his standing as Australia’s white-ball captain with selectors backing their man to lead next month’s tour of New Zealand.

Finch and vice-captain Matthew Wade, the incumbent Twenty20 wicketkeeper, are in line to open the batting in the five-game T20 series as Australia fine-tunes its plans for this year’s World Cup in India.

Finch’s BBL average crashed to 13.8 runs at a strike-rate of 113.3 in a season where the Melbourne Renegades’ captain failed to post a half-century.

Michael Clarke, Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning captain, turned the heat up on Finch, 34, by declaring he was in “deep trouble”.

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Aaron Finch has had a shocking campaign for the Renegades. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“He got dropped from Bangalore (in the) IPL, he has had a horrible BBL,” Clarke said.

“There’s some serious pressure on Finchy in short-form cricket as captain.”

But the selectors have longer memories and Finch’s ODI knocks of 114, 60 and 75 this summer have kept him on sold ground.

“Yes, he’s been a little bit out of nick or out of runs, and, yes, he’d be concerned about his performance,” national selector Trevor Hohns said on Wednesday.

“But, let’s face it, on the international stage he is very well-credentialed and one of the best T20 players in the world.”

Finch – who is always forthright and honest about his form – conceded he had an “absolute shocker”.

Finch usually hits a lot of balls in the lead-up to tournaments and then stays fresh for matches, but he was a regular in the nets this summer was he frantically tried to snap his run of outs.

“The harder I trained, the worse I got, which is the opposite of what everyone tells you to do,” he said.

Graphic for tour of SA

Finch’s wife Amy worked out he had enjoyed just 20 days outside of lockdown or biosecurity bubbles since April.

The destructive right-hander will relax at the beach before departing for New Zealand with the T20 squad on February 7.

With the Test squad in South Africa it is effectively a team of Big Bash All-Stars with Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Jason Behrendorff set to spear the attack.

Richardson dislocated his shoulder almost two years ago and Cricket Australia’s medical staff insisted he wasn’t ready for the demands of Test cricket.

“Jhye was discussed at length regarding inclusion for the South African tour, there’s no doubt,” Hohns said.

“However we took advice from the medical people and in the end it was decided that his comeback to international cricket should be gradual.

“We also figured with their advice that coming back in a T20 tour to New Zealand would be ideal.”

Mitchell Marsh (side strain) has been told he cannot bowl in the BBL finals although should be fine in New Zealand.

The Aussies picked T20 openers Finch, Wade, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis and Josh Phillippe.

But they will fight for top-order places with Hohns reaffirming Australia’s commitment to picking specialist middle-order finishers, such as Marsh, Ashton Turner, Ben McDermot and Daniel Sams.

“T20 cricket to us is role-specific,” he said.

“We’ll be looking for middle-order players knowing we’ve got plenty of players who can fill a role at the top of the order.”