Lankans awful in the opener, but Finch wary
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAD THE BETTER OF SOMEONE THE OTHER DAY DOESN’T MEAN YOU’LL WALK OUT AND DO IT AGAIN ANOTHER DAY
— AUSSIE SKIPPER AARON FINCH
A WARY Aaron Finch says he’s not taking Sri Lanka for granted ahead of tonight’s second T20 international at the Gabba, despite Sunday’s crushing victory in Adelaide.
Australia inflicted a 123-run demolition on the tourists at Adelaide Oval, with Finch starring alongside centurymaker David Warner and Glenn Maxwell.
But the skipper dismissed suggestions the Sri Lankans would not challenge tonight.
“We saw last time they came here [to Australia], they beat us 2-1, played some great cricket and they’re such a dangerous side,” Finch said.
“You look at their numbers, they’ve just beaten Pakistan in Pakistan 3-0 — an absolutely great performance — and they’ve got guys who can destroy a game in overs whether it’s with the ball or the bat, so you can never underestimate a world-class side like Sri Lanka.”
Critics have lashed the Sri Lankan bowling attack, particularly Kasun Rajitha’s horror 0-75 spell, but the visitors are tipped to bounce back under lights in Brisbane. And while Finch was obviously pleased with his side’s first outing, the opener admits the Gabba’s swing-friendly conditions will prove more challenging than Adelaide.
“When you turn up to a different venue, it’s a totally different surface, it’s a different day, it’s a night game for a start and the ball traditionally doesn’t swing a huge amount in the daytime particularly in
Adelaide, so coming here there’ll be a little more movement,” Finch said.
“You have to go through your whole process of restarting your innings. Whether that’s technically in the nets and doing your mental stuff overnight to make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance of success.
“Just because you had the better of someone the other day doesn’t mean you’ll walk out and do it again another day so you have to respect it every day you turn up and play.”
Australia is nevertheless a firm favourite to wrap up the three-game series early as Justin Langer’s side eyes off the world T20 No.1 ranking with a view to next year’s home World Cup.
“That’s the goal,” Finch said. “We’re No.5 at the moment in the world and that’s probably been a real reflection of where we’ve been the last couple of years.
“I think there’s always times where you go through ups and downs as a side, but now we’ve got a specific date in mind with the start of the World Cup to really build that 12-month foundation of a really good solid T20 side that can beat the best in the world and sustain that for a long period of time.”