Aaron Finch shining at World Cup:- Getting out caught in slips, or Leg Before Wicket or even bowled at times, Aaron Finch was going through a rough patch. It was a terrible trot in 2018 and the start of 2019 where after scoring an even 100 against England in June 2018, his next 12 innings brought just 262 runs at an average of 23.81.
What followed? There were question marks over the selection of the Victorian in the Australian side, lend aside the captaincy duties. The India tour also didn’t pan out too well for the hard-hitting opener. “It was obviously a disappointing series. Nowhere near as many runs as I would have liked or as big an impact with the bat. We’ve seen some real improvement in the way we’ve batted in the last three ODIs in particular. I was probably the weak link in that, which is disappointing for me as the captain of the side. I think this time will be really good to be able to work on my game with some more time in the schedule.”
“The self-doubt was rising, an ominous sign for an international athlete and with Finch a mess, it didn’t look all rosy for the Australian captain. “I started to doubt my game in the Australian summer, there were a lot of times when I was questioning every decision I was making, technical, physical, mental, looking for an answer and you don’t know what the answer is.”
Next up was the Australia series with Pakistan in the UAE and Finch had put in a lot of hard work to rise from the ashes. As it panned out, he bounced back with vengeance, hitting two centuries and two fifties in Australia’s 5-0 series win over Pakistan in the UAE. He’s carried that impressive form into the World Cup and now has two tons and three half-centuries from seven outings.
So what has changed?
Aaron Finch shining at World Cup:– As they say, a lot about your performances at the International level is mental. When self-doubt goes and you become more confident, suddenly things start to change. “I changed my mindset a bit more than anything,” Finch informed talking about the improvement in his game.
But that isn’t the only thing. Finch put in a lot of work and made the most of the off days to work on his technique which is showing rich dividends at the World Cup. Finch has looked commendably comfortable against swinging deliveries. Against the English side, where the ball was moving some inches, Finch used proper shot selection to get through the tough phase and accelerated later to put Australia in the ascendency and help them clinch a win against their arch-rivals.
Finch’s approach has seen a marked difference and the Aussie opener is willing to take time to get in, if the pitch demands, and then make the most of his power hitting with a late flurry to make up for the initial slow pace.
“My technique has tightened up slightly, there are a few technical things I have worked on. Sometimes you change some things but you don’t get rewarded straight away for the work you put in behind the scenes. So it’s nice to get that reward.”
Aaron Finch shining at World Cup | Who is behind this?
“Ponting has been great, he’s been great for all the players, not just myself, not just the batters.” “He’s been brilliant for everyone around the group.
“There are days when you just have different access to different coaches so you work with everyone equally.”
“It’s not just because Punter’s here blokes are playing better. That might have a lot to do with it because he puts a lot of work in but all the coaches put a lot of work in.”
“It’s been great to have him around, no doubt.”
Finch has been on a fine run and accumulated 496 runs this World Cup, only behind Warner and in the process, went on to break Ponting’s record of the highest individual score by an Australian batsman at the World Cup. And the punter can only be proud!
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