Finch to open for Aussies ... but not Victoria
Finch to open for Aus ... but not Vics
Limited-overs captain Finch is set to represent Australia across all three formats this summer, a feat only David Warner achieved last season. Finch scored 181 runs at 45 as a Test opener in the UAE but facing the new ball in Australian conditions is a different challenge altogether to the docile decks of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Questions remain about how Finch will fare against the moving ball given his limited success when trialled as an opener for Victoria.
Finch said he had not faced a red ball since the Pakistan Tests but was not concerned where he batted for Victoria.
“The last time I faced a red ball was when it cannoned into my front pad in Abu Dhabi in that second Test match,” he said. “I haven’t faced one since then, but at the end of the day the principles are all the same and it’s about the basics and making sure you’re getting into good habits and good routines.
“And I feel like I’ve been doing that in the nets against the white ball, but it just hasn’t translated into enough runs in the last couple of weeks.”
CONFLICTS between the best interests of Australia’s state and national teams have escalated amid confirmation Aaron Finch won’t open the batting for Victoria today.
Poised to partner up with Marcus Harris for the first Test against India on December 6, the Geelong batsman revealed yesterday he won’t be moved to the top of the order for Victoria’s Sheffield clash against Queensland at the Gabba, starting today. “Last time I spoke to the coach, it wasn’t going to happen,” Finch said on SEN.
“I know there’s been a lot of debate around it, but at the end of the day it’s about what’s best for Victoria, and personally it doesn’t matter where I bat for Victoria. As long as I get some time in the middle I think that’s the most important thing.”
Amid recent turmoil at Cricket Australia, Victoria’s refusal to bat Finch as an opener has highlighted the conflicting interests between state and national teams.
The ladder-leaders will retain their established opening partnership of Harris and Travis Dean — a decision spin king Shane Warne labelled “a disgrace”.
Finch has publicly accepted his fate, but debate continues to rage about whether Victoria coach Andrew McDonald should fall in line with national counterpart Justin Langer and skipper Tim Paine ahead of a crucial Test series.
“Having done it for such a long period of time, I don’t think it makes too much of a difference,” Finch said.
“I haven’t batted with Marcus Harris a huge amount of times, so that would be nice, but at the end of the day, if you’re batting at three or four, time in the middle is going to be the most important thing leading into that first Test.”
Relations between the states and CA were scrutinised in the Longstaff review that criticised interventions in the Shield and said CA’s high-performance unit had been “given virtual carte blanche in its quest to produce a winning national team”.