THE MAKING OF AARON FINCH
A resolve nurtured in primary school has taken this Colac boy to the top, ALEX OATES explains
“He was always confident in his own ability. He was a self-assured young kid, without being arrogant, and he believed in himself.
BRETT Lee was pacing around the MCG nets, itching to bowl. On the comeback trail from injury back in 2000, the world’s fastest bowler was ready to test himself.
Needing a net buddy, the challenge was set down to members of the Victorian under-15 squad, who happened to be at the ground on a training camp.
But only one boy, a 14-yearold keeper-batsman from Colac, was brave enough to put his body on the line against the fearsome Lee, then 23.
As his teammates ducked for cover, Aaron Finch had his hand raised, eager to face Lee’s 150km/h thunderbolts.
“The coach came in and said Brett Lee wants to bowl some overs in the indoor nets, who wants to put the pads on?” said Finch’s junior coach Sean Lynch, who recited the story told by former Australian Test quick Merv Hughes.
“And Merv said that Aaron was the only kid who put his hand up. He was happy to take on the challenge of batting against Brett Lee.
“And that sums up Aaron, his preparedness to have a bit of a crack. He obviously believed in his own ability and wasn’t scared.
“The other boys were scared about Brett making an absolutely fool out of him, but he didn’t really care about that, he just wanted a challenge.”
In many respects, that brief but blistering net session was the making of Australia’s newest Test phenomenon.
Set to open the batting on debut against Pakistan in Dubai tomorrow, Finch is reaping the rewards of a fierce determination that was instilled in him at a young age.
According to Lynch, who played 39 first XI games for Footscray and mentored Finch in Colac West’s under-17 premiership season of 19992000, the strongly built batsman was always “ahead of his time”.
“When he was batting he just knew where the runs were and he had a great cricket brain, beyond his age,” he said.
“More than his technique or his natural cricket ability, his cricket smarts really stood out.
“He was always confident in his own ability. He was a selfassured young kid, without being arrogant, and he believed in himself.
“He didn’t always take it too seriously. He had a bit of fun, but you knew he was going to be better than most kids.”
But Finch’s rise to the Test arena — as a 31-year-old following 11 long years at first- class level — has even taken Lynch by surprise.
“I didn’t think he had an overly special ability to bat,” said the elegant left-hander.
“I think his technique was kind of homegrown, he wasn’t coached from a young age, so he developed his own technique. He had a great hand-eye co-ordination but I didn’t think he’d get to the levels that he has.
“I’ve seen kids his age look a lot better players, but with Aaron, it was his determination.
“I never thought when I left Colac he’d get where he is.”
A product of Colac West, where he played in an A-grade premiership as a 14-year-old in 2000-01, Finch was always in the thick of representative cricket.
It all started in his primary school years when he was identified as a player of the future.
Don Royce, a former primary school principal and cricket talent scout, was conducting a trial session at Queen’s Park when the hardhitting right-hander caught his eye.
“Our job was to put them through their paces and nominate half a dozen boys to go to Melbourne for further state trials,” Royce said.
“Aaron Finch was in among all these kids and I remember saying, ‘we’ve never sent a wicketkeeper to the trials, why don’t we send that little chunky kid from Colac?’
“So we did. Traditionally we just sent a couple of bowlers, a few batsmen and a slow bowler, and he went off and was successful in getting a spot with the Victorian primary school cricket team.
“That was the start of his representative career and I’m pretty sure he was the first cricketer in Victoria to get ticked off at every representative team.
“And if he gets in the Test side, he’s played at every possible representative level, from primary school age right through.”
Finch played with the Barwon Rockets, Victoria and Australia as a junior and fell into the lap of Geelong Cricket Club when he was a teenager.
Breaking into the Cats’ second XI in his maiden season in 2002-03, he made more than 400 runs in 16 games, including his first ton, before making his Premier debut in Round 16, against Melbourne University.
The following year he started in the seconds, but was promoted to the firsts after a brilliant 130 against Camberwell in Round 7.
In 2005-06, while playing pathways cricket, he registered the first of two centuries for the season as he announced himself at district level.
Two years later, Finch was a dominant force as an 18-yearold.
“I remember the year he made 1000 runs before Christmas and we were anticipating his call up to Shield cricket, only to see Chris Rogers recruited from Western Australia and take his place,” said Royce, a long-serving chairman of selectors at Geelong.
“We were so disappointed for him, but Chris Rogers went on to do some great things for Australia and now Aaron has his chance.
“David Kelly has always talked about Geelong Cricket Club being the pathway to the
ABaggy Green and this will consolidate that reference.” STRONG contingent of the Finch family has made the journey to Dubai, with dad Gary, mum Sue, brother Jason and sister Jess touching down in the UAE earlier this week.
Back in Colac, the rest of the clan will be glued to their television sets, eagerly awaiting the moment he strides on Dubai International Stadium in his Baggy Green.
“The whole family is immensely proud,” Finch’s uncle Mick Ross said.
“In a way, we didn’t know if this day would ever come. Aaron always believed it could happen, so we’re just excited, proud . . . all those words. He’s come a long way.”
From humble beginnings, the country lad from the small farming region of Irrewarra, on the outskirts of Colac, is now one of Australia’s wealthiest cricketers.
He is the captain of
Australia’s T20 side — announced yesterday — a leader in the ODI team and one of the most in-demand T20 batsmen in the world, earning millions of dollars a season.
But he has remained humble.
“One of the things that struck me, and I’m as proud as anyone, is the person he’s become,” Ross said.
“He’s very respectful, he speaks well and he comes across well. That’s who he is, he’s a caring person and that’s as important as anything you do on a cricket field.
“You’ve still got to be a good person and that’s what I see in Aaron. He’s got time for everyone and family is very important to him.
“He’s always thoughtful. He’s donated a lot of his gear to Colac West.
“There were about 72 items from different tours he’s done and he gave them to our club, so everyone got about four items each.
“There was Victorian stuff, Renegades and Australian stuff. He had so much and he said to Sue, ‘give it to West and they can do what they want with it’.
“You see at training these kids with big, baggy shorts that don’t fit them but they’re wearing them because they’re Aaron Finch’s short from when he played for Australia.
“It all ties in to the person that Aaron is.”
FINCH has always lived and breathed cricket.
At home, school or a friend’s house, he was sportobsessed.
“If he didn’t have a cricket ball in his hand, he’d have a cricket bat,” Ross said.
“And even at mum’s we’d have a hit in the back yard and we just couldn’t get him out.
“In the end we’d have to say, ‘c’mon Az, give someone else a hit’. His nieces and nephews would give up and go inside.”
Although academically talented, education always took a back seat for Finch.
He was never fond of the classroom, according to his former primary and secondary school teacher Chris Macqueen.
“I always taught him on a Friday afternoon and do you think Aaron would stay in the classroom? No,” Macqueen said.
“He’d sneak out and he’d been hitting the ball against the wall in the quadrangle at the high school.
“I’d be going out and trying to get him back in and he wouldn’t come back... every single lesson.”
Macqueen often shares the story of her first meeting with a bright-eyed grade four pupil.
“I arrived for my first day of term and this little kid stands up at assembly and says, ‘I’m going to play cricket for Australia’,” she said.
“I can remember thinking ‘wow, that’s ambitious’ . . . and to say it front of the school.
“Looking back, he was so focused and look where it’s got him?”