Cricket: Rocks and diamonds in India

Ten ducks from Aaron Finch in ODIs. That’s the risk with him at the World Cup. But others have stepped up to fill the void.

Australian captain Aaron Finch walks back to the pavilion after yet another duck

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack. Ten ducks from Aaron Finch in ODIs. That’s the risk with him at the World Cup. Rocks and diamonds at the top of the order. Disastrous starts that need to be compensated for.

Let’s not get too gloomy, though, about the prospect of a Mike Brearley-style skipper for the 50-over carnival in England. Not yet, anyway. Australia made a molehill of the pursuit of India’s mountainous 9-358 bat Mohali.

Peter Handscomb took his lumberjack technique and fashioned 117 (105 balls) with it. Usman Khawaja made 91 (99 balls) like he was driving a luxury car along an empty freeway at dusk. And then Ashton Turner — Ashton Turner! — clobbered an unbeaten 84 from 43 deliveries to get Australia to 6/369 … with 13 balls to spare.

It was such an authoritative and electrifying innings under extreme pressure that he was pitchforked into World Cup selection calculations.

Five fours. Six sixes. On one occasion he did a hot-shoe shuffle outside his off stump to flick the ball over the fence at deep fine leg. India captain Virat Kohli watched the ball disappear into the crowd before putting his hands over his eyes in disbelief. Unbelievable shot, and knock.

Matthew Hayden has been raving about Turner for a while. Now we see why. “Really lost for words. I turned up to the ground today and Marcus Stoinis was doing a fitness test. He’s got a broken thumb,” Turner said after his man-of-the-match innings. “He’s a pretty tough bloke so I thought he’d get up and play and I’d be running drinks again. It was a last-minute transition in my mind from not playing to playing. I had a lot of confidence I was ready to go if I was given the chance.”

Hayden, mountainous himself in stature and reputation, has been a regular presence at Australia’s net sessions while he’s in India on television commentary duties. “I was really privileged to get my cap presented by Haydos in Hyderabad,” Turner said. “I’m still nervous standing around and talking with him. He’s spent a lot of time with me in the nets, was a brilliant player of spin bowling, especially over here in India.

“It’s great to just sit down and talk batting with him, he’s a legend and someone I always looked up to. He’s been great to me.”

To the nitty gritty. Finch. He made a second-ball duck. The World Cup selection dilemma is this: Nine into six doesn’t go to England. The nine contenders are Steve Smith (the first certainty), David Warner (second certainty), Finch (question mark), Khawaja (third certainty), Shaun Marsh (question mark), Handscomb (probable as back-up gloveman), Glenn Maxwell (fourth certainty), Marcus Stoinis (fifth certainty) and after his bellringer of an innings against India, Turner (back-up spinner, too). Since the start of the season in November, Finch has been the worst performed. He came good with 93 in game three against India, but backed it up with a second-ball duck yesterday. His 10 ducks are alongside 11 hundreds for Australia. Basically a 50-50 proposition in 50-over cricket.

The pitch at Mohali was good when India posted 358, and getting better. Handscomb and Khawaja combined for a crucial 192-run partnership while barely saying a word to each other. They agreed a run-a-ball was imperative and there was little more to talk about. “To chase down 350, 360, against India, in India, the boys are going to take so much confidence from that. Not only going into the next game but against Pakistan and looking forward to the World Cup. This is a really big moment for us. We’ve started to develop our batting plan. Our batting signature. We’re starting to click.”

On Turner, Handscomb said: “We’ve seen Ash do this in the Big Bash a couple of times. For him to come out on the world stage, second ODI, to play an innings like that is phenomenal. It became a T20 chase about 15 overs out. Ash knew which bowlers to target and pull the trigger on, and which bowlers to sit on. That was a beautiful, mature knock.”

Meanwhile, Australia’s selectors have erred in keeping the same touring squad for the five-match series against Pakistan. Smith and Warner have been omitted, as expected, from the series in the UAE. They’re available for the final two matches. The message from Cricket Australia could have been a powerful one. They’ve done their time, all is forgiven, they’re back in the fold from the very first second they’re available. The tour of the UAE will have limited media intrusions, small crowds — it would have been an uncomplicated space for their reintegration before the pre-World Cup circus begins in England. As Ian Healy said on Fox Cricket: “I would have got them in for game time with the squad and to get back on their feet at international level. They’ve been pretty successful when they’ve played club level. They’re going to let them go to the IPL, so why don’t they get two internationals with a potential World Cup squad?”