HORROR LEFT BEHIND
Finch says new-look side can turn things around before World Cup
CRICKET: Australia have just 13 one-day internationals to prepare their World Cup defence, starting at the SCG today, and the reigning champs could not be coming from a lower base.
But captain Aaron Finch is adamant the raft of changes made to the team, including the recall of players who haven’t worn the green and gold in a ODI since 2017, is the right step on the road back.
Finch’s men are coming off a horror 2018, with Australia winning just two of 13 ODIs and slipping to sixth in the rankings.
Today’s opponent, India, won 14 ODIs, many on the back of superstar skipper Virat Kohli, who made six centuries and averaged 133 across a stunning 12-month period.
The numbers paint the picture of such a vast gap between the two sides that despite Finch’s men playing at home, expectations are they won’t get near the tourists in the three-game series.
After a lacklustre 2-1 loss to South Africa last November, selectors swung the axe in the search of a line-up that could win.
Today’s team has six new faces, including two players, Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja, who haven’t played an ODI since 2017.
Veteran bowler Peter Siddle will play his first one-dayer since 2010 and leftarm quick Jason Behrendorff will make his debut in the absence of rested frontline fast bowlers Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Selection chairman Trevor Hohns put the World Cup squarely in the frame when he announced the new-look squad, picking players who provided “flexibility to play a variety of roles at different stages of a match”.
Finch confirmed as much yesterday when he said wicketkeeper Alex Carey would open with him, Handscomb would be the middle-order linchpin and Glenn Maxwell the “floater”, because that was where he produced his best.
“When we saw him at his absolute best was during the 2015 World Cup, where he was used as a floater,” Finch said of Maxwell, listed to bat at No.7.
“There is still a lot of scope for him to float up and down the order as the game situation changes.”
With five months to go until the World Cup opener, and the changes made and plans in place, Finch was adamant Australia would be world beaters by then.
“While it would have been great to have had a settled side for the past 18 months, it’s still enough time to get it right,” he said.