Recent slump not the whole story of Finch

AUSTRALIA has played 43 games of cricket, across all forms, since the conclusion of the Ashes last summer. Aaron Finch has played in 35 of them.

The social media wolves are circling the one-day captain after two single-figure scores to open the series against India, following his axing from the Test team for not scoring enough runs.

But the last month only tells half the story for Finch, who has been a run-scoring mainstay in three teams that have seen constant personnel changes during a near-unprecedented period of uncertainty.

Finch has played every ODI (13) and T20 (17) Australia has contested since February last year, averaging close to 40 in each format. He’s played five of 10 Tests too. It’s a feat no other player can match.

He has pounded just under 1200 runs and scored four hundreds, one of only three players, with Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja, to record a century for his country during that spread of time.

None of those numbers include his county cricket efforts with Surrey in England, his Sheffield Shield outings for Victoria, his IPL stint or his Big Bash games.

It’s a been a full-throttle 12 months for Finch, which included his wedding, and there’s no sign of a let-up.

Tomorrow he’ll take over the Renegades in their push for BBL success, before one-day series in India and Pakistan, both crucial building blocks to a World Cup defence in England in June and July.

Despite the workload, his captaincy requirements, the run of losses, at Test and one- day level especially, and his own recent lean trot, Finch is a smiler.

He said every Australian player has the “best job in the world” and should never take that for granted.

“Because it ends pretty quick,” Finch said ahead of his 99th one-day match in today’s series decider against India at the MCG. “It’s important to understand that we have the best job in the world, we are representing our country, embrace it. And the tough times don’t last, they really don’t.”