Captain Finch fires Australia back into World Cup contention

MELBOURNE: Six months after being slammed by critics, Australia’s one-day team is building nicely in the lead up to the World Cup with all the players singing from the same song sheet, captain Aaron Finch has said.

Resurgent Australia completed a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, with all top four batsmen posting half-centuries in a commanding 20-run win, the team’s eighth in succession.

The turnaround, which included a 3-2 series win in India prior to the United Arab Emirates tour, is all the more remarkable given that it comes in the wake of a sixseries losing streak dating back to January 2016.

“If you think back to six months ago, a lot of people were slamming us, a lot of people were writing us off for not just one-day cricket but all forms of cricket,” Finch told reporters.

“When you’re building towards something and you’ve changed a bit of your strategy and game plan, I think it can take a little bit of time to develop.

“It took a bit of time for guys maybe to fully buy into it and believe that it was the right way to play one-day cricket and the right strategy to go with.”

As Australia stumbled through a dreadful 2018 in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, Finch’s poor form with the bat was emblematic of the team’s struggles.

The stocky opening batsman has played a huge part in the team’s revival, however, smashing 451 runs at an average of 112.75 against Pakistan to top the runs list and be named player of the series.

Finch’s opening partnership with Usman Khawaja has been a huge success, with the latter third on the runs list with 272 at an average of 54.40 against Pakistan after also dominating with the bat against India.

Australia’s rejuvenation has come without opener David Warner and former captain Steve Smith, who were suspended for ball-tampering until March 29, and minus injured first-choice fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.