BOLD FINCH CALL
Star bat in box seat to keep captaincy for cups
AARON Finch’s leadership has received yet another glowing endorsement, with the Victorian a growing chance to captain Australia in another three World Cups before his time is up.
The Geelong batsman thought his opportunity to lead Australia at a World Cup was gone when selectors punted him for Steve Smith on the eve of the 2016 Twenty20 tournament in India.
But after receiving brilliant feedback from his captaincy at last year’s ODI World Cup in England, Finch is certain to steer Australia through this year’s home T20 World Cup.
After six T20 World Cups, the silverware still eludes Australia, with reigning champion West Indies winning it twice.
Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts declared Finch and Tim Paine were secure as the country’s white-ball and red-ball leaders, despite a swell of pre-summer talk that Smith would win back the job once his leadership ban expired.
Finch, 33, is in line to also captain Australia at next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in India. The 2023 ODI World Cup, which will also be staged in India, would be a fitting farewell for the 2015 champion.
While he will be 36 when the 2023 World Cup rolls around, he has openly declared he wants to play in that tournament and, if his form remains strong, there is every chance he could stay on as captain.
Finch is a clever in-game thinker with his on-field tactics often lauded by the game’s greats.
Keeper Alex Carey is most likely to toss the coin in India in 2023 if Finch no longer holds the title.
“Finch has been really good to me personally and has given me a lot of confidence to play my game and play the way I want to play,” Western Australia vice-captain Ashton Turner said.
“He is a brilliant leader. Since he has taken over the full-time captaincy of the oneday and T20 teams we have gone from strength to strength.
“To have that consistency in the squads is really good.
All the boys most importantly love playing under Finchy’s captaincy.”
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