- Mar 4, 2024
- Oct 14, 2023
Australian coach Andrew McDonald has finally given his take on the burning question with regards to the form of underperforming captain Aaron Finch. The skipper added three more low scores with the bat against Zimbabwe last week. Finch has not been in good nick, which has seen him average just a shade over 11 in his last 11 ODI innings.
His position in the side has been under heavy scrutiny in a big way following the tricky series against Zimbabwe, which the home side managed to win comprehensively in the opening two games, before losing the third one in a low-scoring contest.
Australia has now shifted focus to Cairns, where they will begin a three-match ODI series against New Zealand on Tuesday. Speaking to the press, McDonald said Finch must be positive in his batting. “I think it’ll just be about clearing his mind, clearing his thoughts and going out there and looking to be positive,” McDonald said.
“When he’s positive, his feet move a lot better than potentially when he’s doubting. And that’s every batsman’s case when they feel as though they haven’t got the runs that they want – they search for a little bit more and sometimes that can take away from … just clearing those thoughts and responding to what’s coming down.“… I think across his career it’s ebbed and flowed – his movement patterns sometimes early in his innings are compromised, whether it be through perceived pressure which he puts upon himself or what the bowler does and executes.
“We know batting is reactive and you react to the stimulus delivered by the bowler and if we can get his mind clear I think that there’s an opportunity there for him to have an impact on that New Zealand series.”
The captain is not going to be dropped during this series given the T20 World Cup is just some time away. However, with 12 months to go for the 50 World Cup in India, Australia is surely running out of time to appoint a replacement captain in his place if they decide is form is not good enough to see him continue being selected for the white ball teams.