T20 World Cup: Aaron Finch must be careful his forlorn mood doesn’t seep into rest of team

As brutal as it sounds, it is difficult to argue now that Aaron Finch would still be in Australia’s best Twenty20 XI if he wasn’t the team’s captain.

Aaron Finch looks anything but convincing, but at this point the only person he needs to convince is himself.

As brutal as it sounds, it is difficult to argue now that Finch would still be in Australia’s best Twenty20 XI if he wasn’t captain.

But the fact is he is the leader of this team and selectors have already committed strongly to backing him in.

What matters now is how Finch gets his head around his own predicament.

No one has been more damning on Finch’s tortured performance in Perth against Sri Lanka than Finch himself.

The captain refused to make excuses for one of the scratchiest innings ever seen in a T20 World Cup.

Would Aaron Finch still be in Australia’s best Twenty20 XI if he wasn’t captain? Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

“Obviously my innings was unusual, it was poor, I just couldn’t hit the ball,” Finch said post-match.

Out in the middle as he struggled to find anywhere close to the middle of the bat in his bizarre 31 not out off 42 balls, Finch’s frustration was palpable.

Even in the field, his demeanour appears agitated at times and it’s hard not to sense the captain feels he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The way Australia played most of that match against Sri Lanka, the worry is it’s a mood that’s seeping in.

It’s a tough place to be for Finch and you can’t help but feel for him. This is not what he deserves. He has been a great batsman and a great servant.

But Finch is not walking alone and many greats over the years – not the least of all Ricky Ponting – have experienced what it’s like to suddenly have to ask yourself the chastening question, ‘have I gone on too long?’

World Cups are over so quickly that by the time you even start thinking about Plan B you’re often already beaten.

What Australia need most from Finch now is for him to cleanse himself of any feelings of guilt and wounded pride and believe what selectors believed when they picked him – that he was backed in for this World Cup for a reason.

And that reason was the power of loyalty.

A belief that the side which created history by winning Australia’s first ever Twenty20 World Cup last year, deserved the chance to defend its crown on home soil 12 months later.

The jury is out on that decision, but it’s too early for post-mortems yet and Australia has a very real opportunity to prove against England that the tight bonds forged by winning last year can fortify them again when the big moment arrives on Friday night at the MCG.

Finch as captain – at his best – is a key to that chemistry.

LEGEND URGES AUSSIES TO MAKE SAVAGE FINCH CALL

Allan Border believes Steve Smith should replace Aaron Finch in Australia’s crunch game against England as selectors face a pivotal World Cup gamble.

Opinion is divided amongst ex-greats about whether it’s too late to throw the World Cup plan out the window and axe captain Finch following his tortured innings in Perth.

However, even if Finch survives, there is a growing sense that Smith’s big-game pedigree must be considered for the MCG cauldron where – despite Ireland’s stunning upset of England – the Ashes battle must still be treated as do-or-die by Australia.

World Cup great Brad Haddin would stick with Finch but believes Australia need to seriously think whether Smith might be more crucial to the blockbuster occasion than rookie big hitter Tim David.

Border doesn’t want Finch gone for good, but believes Smith should come in to perform a heavy-duty role against England after Australia failed to score a single boundary in the power play against Sri Lanka.

Aaron Finch is all smiles after the winning runs against Sri Lanka.

“I love Aaron Finch but you’ve got Smith there, who you could argue is the best player in the world,” Border told News Corp.

“You look at what Virat Kohli did the other night at the MCG … that steadying influence Smith brings knocking the ball around – sometimes it’s not just power hitting, sometimes it’s a bit more strategic.

“This is must-win. We’ve got to have our best XI cricketers.

“It doesn’t mean Finchy doesn’t come back in. But what is our best side for England? I just reckon Smith has to be in there somewhere.”

Haddin agrees Australia has enough power hitting with Finch, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Perth hero Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, and should consider Smith as a conditions and occasion based selection at the MCG.

“Australia have got a plan to play with an aggressive batting line-up which makes sense, but a T20 is also about match-ups and maybe this game at the MCG, with the enormity of the occasion, the ground, the crowd … you might be able to find a space for Steve Smith,” Haddin told News Corp.

Australia has been urged to pick Steve Smith for its clash with England.

“Where that comes from is you look at the way Stoinis’ power game was against Sri Lanka. You have Mitch Marsh, you’ve got Maxwell. Maybe in these conditions in Melbourne, this is an opportunity that Smith does come up into discussion. Because of the enormity of it and the pressure this game brings.”

The Australian camp may still resist all changes, adamant there is a prevailing belief they’re good enough to beat England, despite being soundly beaten by the old enemy in the World Cup warm-up series.

“We don’t even think about losing games to be honest,” said Ashton Agar.

“We have great belief in the guys that are out there in that moment, because we’ve had guys out there in those big moments before. It’s an experienced group that enjoys those big moments … We’re going to support our mates to the final ball.”

Former National Selector Mark Waugh has suggested the more radical solution of dumping fast bowler Pat Cummins (smashed for 20 off the last over) for all-rounder Cameron Green, and have Green open the batting and Finch dropped back to No.4.

“I would bring Cameron Green in and I’d bring him in for Pat Cummins and I’d let Cam Green open the batting,” said Waugh on RSN.

The Australians enjoy a wicket during their win over Sri Lanka.

“There’s players individually that just aren’t getting it right.

“Pat Cummins with the ball, there’s a massive question mark over him heading into the next game. Aaron Finch’s innings was torturous. It really was. I don’t think he can open the innings in the next game. If he’s going to play, he should bat somewhere down the order.

“ … There’s lots of individual players who seem to have lost the plot. It just doesn’t feel right.”

Fox Cricket expert and former England women’s international Isa Guha warned that as big a gamble as it is keeping the faith in an out of form opener, dumping Finch as skipper could cause more instability than it’s worth on the eve of such a massive game.

“I don’t think there’s much you can do now because all year long they’ve been saying he’ll captain, he’ll open the batting, so to suddenly change things up now would be quite a risk,” said Guha.

“It wasn’t the easiest batting conditions but at the same time he did struggle … but there are definitely some concerns around what happens going forwards for sure.”

PERTH HERO POISED TO BE AXED FOR ZAMPA RETURN

The Australian camp is confident key spinner Adam Zampa will be given a clean bill of health to play in Friday night’s sudden death blockbuster against England.

Zampa was to fly with the Australians from Perth to Melbourne on Wednesday isolated in his own row away from teammates.

The leg-spinner was ruled out of Tuesday night’s win over Sri Lanka but there is confidence his symptoms have been mild and he will be primed to return against England.

Replacement Ashton Agar bowled well in Zampa’s absence but is expecting to make way again at the MCG.

“I assume Zamps will pull up well. He was starting to feel better already so I’m sure he’ll play against England and I’ll just have to see what happens with me,” said Agar.

“I’ve become used to that. I’m pretty good at dealing with that now. As much as I’d like to play every game, we’ve got a really good squad so I just keep moving forwards. I’ll be fine.”

Adam Zampa is likely to return to Australia’s team on Friday.

ICC World Cup rules allow Covid positive players to play, however, Australian medical staff made the decision they didn’t want to risk wearing down Zampa if he wasn’t 100 per cent.

Agar is an unlucky figure in Australia’s World Cup squad.

He has an economy rate of just over six in Twenty20 international cricket and averages 22 runs for every wicket taken for Australia, yet struggles to get a start in the pace heavy line-up.

Agar stood up and did his job in the must-win game against Sri Lanka.

Ashton Agar expects Zampa to recover in time.

Agar is the man most likely to make way for Zampa.

According to Agar, Marcus Stoinis’ extraordinary 59 not out off 18 balls has brought Australia back to life in the World Cup.

“It was gun. The boys were going bananas on the bench when he was doing stuff like that,” Agar said of the masterclass which featured six sixes.

“You could see he was fist pumping. He brings so much of that energy and life to this dressing room and the boys just rally around that.

“That’s given us a huge lift for sure.

“I’m not surprised that he did something like that, I’ve seen the work he’s put in before this World Cup. I’ve been training with him a lot.

“It’s this animal, predator mindset – he’s out to go and get them and that’s exactly what he did.”