One day, Finch will be duly recognised

MOST people will tell you that Tim Paine is the captain of the Australian cricket team, but in truth he only runs one third of the men’s teams.

Aaron Finch’s role as skipper of the ODI and T20 teams is often overlooked.

This should have been Finch’s time.

The Australian T20 side should have been finetuning itself to win the T20 World Cup on home soil. It is the one major international trophy that has never collected dust at headquarters.

Finch last led the team on to a field in front of empty stands at the SCG in March in an ODI match against New Zealand. It falls on him and his extended ODI-T20 squad to lead Australia back on to the field with the squad due to fly out to the UK and into quarantine to play three games in each format. Restrictions on player movements and behaviour are going to be onerous on the tour.

The captain admits that having characters like Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner locked inside a hotel for an extended period is going to be tough, but is relieved that at Southampton they will have access to a golf course which should keep Glenn Maxwell occupied for part of the time.

Finch’s captaincy has always been something of an afterthought. He had the T20 job but lost it when Steve Smith took over. When the ODI role became vacant because of Smith’s ban Paine was given the role, but it soon became apparent that it was too much for the Tasmanian and he gave it back to Finch.

He has quietly and incrementally grown in stature since. There’s universal love for the thick-set opening batsman who is one of the most popular guys among teammates and staff.

Justin Langer is quick to remind people of the role the Victorian batsman has played in getting Australian cricket back to the right place.