Finch bubbly about World Cup campaign
AARON Finch says there has never been a better time to play Twenty20 cricket for Australia as the format enjoys rare priority status before next year’s World Cup.
Australia can wrap up its three-match series with Sri Lanka in Brisbane tonight, having thumped the tourists by 134 runs in Sunday’s Adelaide opener.
Australia has not won a T20 World Cup and Finch’s side ranks fourth, marginally ahead of India, in a tight top five on a T20 rankings list headed by Pakistan.
Captain Finch says consistent selections and the focus on October’s home tournament should see strong performances from Australia as it seeks to improve its ranking.
“That’s the goal (to become world No.1); we’re No.5 (sic) at the moment in the world and that’s probably been a real reflection of where we’ve been for the last couple of years,” he said.
“There’s always times when you go through ups and downs as a side, but now we have a specific date in mind, which is the start of the World Cup (in October).
“Everything that we’re doing on and off the field is based around working back from the T20 World Cup.”
Including tonight’s Gabba clash, Australia has 20 games remaining to fine-tune its campaign and, unlike in previous summers that featured sporadic T20 fixtures, has earmarked a squad it hopes can see it through the journey.
The Adelaide thumping was the perfect start and the Australians will start hot favourites to seal the series in Brisbane.
But with Sri Lanka’s 2-1 series victory on its 2017 visit fresh in mind and Mitchell Starc absent as he attends his brother’s wedding, Finch will not relax as he seeks to create a winning habit.
“We’re just really pleased that we’re playing more of it (T20 internationals) now,” he said.
“We’ve spoken about the continuity and being able to select a more consistent side.
“It’s a really great time to be playing T20 cricket for Australia; you’re getting enough game time to develop that squad mentality.”
Queensland quick Billy Stanlake and NSW seamer Sean Abbott are options to replace Starc in the side that dominated on Sunday.