Finch fends off critics with gritty half-century
MAYBE Aaron Finch is a Test opener after all.
Finch entered the second Test against India under huge pressure to perform after his double failure in Adelaide.
The 32-year-old posted scores of just 0 and 11 in that opening Test, with his technique against the swinging ball criticised heavily.
There were loud calls for Finch to drop down the order, with critics suggesting he wasn’t up to handling the new ball.
But Australian coach Justin Langer stuck to his guns, entrusting Finch to tame India’s all-out pace attack on a green Perth Stadium pitch.
Finch justified the faith by scoring 50 off 105 balls in scorching 37-degree heat.
His 112-run opening stand with Marcus Harris gave Australia a strong foundation to build a big first-innings total.
Finch’s innings was finally brought undone when he was trapped lbw by a full Jasprit Bumrah delivery.
By that stage he had already won over plenty of admirers for his gritty knock. Finch, who is a proven performer in the white-ball game, had scored 20 runs from his first 31 balls.
But he showed he was also capable of grinding it out when the going became tough by scoring just three runs from the next 39 deliveries.
However, Finch’s innings wasn’t without its fair share of scares. He survived two confident lbw shouts off consecutive balls when he was on 20. India reviewed the first, with ball-tracking vision showing Mohammed Shami’s delivery would have gone over the stumps.
Finch’s second lbw appeal was even closer – with balltracking vision declaring it would have been the umpire’s call.
The original decision was not out, and India didn’t review it anyway. Finch also sur- vived a run-out scare earlier in his innings. But those were rare lapses from the righthander, who was able to maintain a high level of concentration in the heat.
Finch’s spot in the Test side is still far from cemented, but this innings helped his cause.
Tim Paine finally won a toss, in his fifth Test as captain, and in doing so avoided joining Australia’s second ever skipper, Billy Murdoch, who lost his first five in the 1880s.
But Paine was in good company on four losses. The great Richie Benaud also lost his first four tosses as captain when he took over the leadership in 1958.