Misfiring Finch has selectors’ backing

AARON Finch’s disastrous Big Bash League campaign has had little bearing on his standing as Australia’s white-ball captain, with selectors backing their man to lead next month’s tour of New Zealand.

Finch, pictured, and vicecaptain Matthew Wade, the incumbent Twenty20 wicketkeeper, are in line to open the batting in the five-game T20 series as Australia fine-tunes its plans for this year’s World Cup in India.

Finch’s BBL average crashed to 13.8 runs at a strikerate of 113.3 in a season where the Melbourne Renegades’ captain failed to post a halfcentury.

Michael Clarke, Australia’s 2015 World Cup-winning captain, turned the heat up on Finch, 34, by declaring he was in “deep trouble”.

“He got dropped from Bangalore (in the) IPL, he has had a horrible BBL,” Clarke said. “There’s some serious pressure on Finchy in short-form cricket as captain.”

But the selectors have longer memories and Finch’s ODI knocks of 114, 60 and 75 this summer saved him.

“Yes, he’s been a little bit out of nick or out of runs, and, yes, he’d be concerned about his performance,” national selector Trevor Hohns said on Wednesday.

“But, let’s face it, on the international stage he is very well-credentialled and one of the best T20 players in the world.”

Finch — who is always forthright and honest about his form — conceded he had an “absolute shocker”.

“The harder I trained, the worse I got, which is the opposite of what everyone tells you to do,” he said.