AUS v SL | Need to be really flexible in middle-order to throw teams off guard, says Aaron Finch
Australia captain Aaron Finch reckons that his middle-order batsmen need to be really flexible in order to throw teams off guard by the odd shuffling in the order. As Australia prepare for the World T20 at home next year, Finch is hoping that Ashton Agar can blossom into a swashbuckling finisher.
In the first of three T20Is against Sri Lanka on Sunday, Finch decided to send in all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ahead of the regular No.3 Steve Smith. The move paid off as Maxwell smashed 62 off 28 balls after David Warner (100 not out) and Finch (64) set up a 122-run opening partnership, but it denied Smith a chance to bat in his first full international on home soil since serving a 12-month ball-tampering ban. Finch later explained his call and said that he wanted his batsmen to be ready to play anywhere as per the match demands.
"I think at all times, you'll see four or five guys in the sheds with their pads on. To be really flexible as a middle-order, prepared to go in at any stage, is important to catch teams off guard. If you've got left and right-hand combinations, there are a few options there, so it's a nicely balanced side at the moment," Finch told Reuters in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Although left-arm spinner Agar â who averages 13.66 with the bat from 16 T20Is â was an unused No.7 in the batting order on Sunday, Finch said that the 26-year-old was working hard to get to the âall-rounderâ status.
"His batting's still developing. Something that he's been working on is becoming that real finisher towards the back end of an innings in T20 and one-day games. So if he can keep developing that, it'll give you a lot of options to play that second spinner or go with four quicks, or if there's another all-rounder that comes in," Finch said.
The Aussies are the most successful side in white-ball cricket history, but ahead of the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup next year, it remains the only major piece of silverware missing in their trophy cabinet. In a bid to correct that statistic, Cricket Australia (CA) has put together a string of T20I matches to help the world's fifth-ranked T20 side gather momentum.Â
"It's a really great time to be playing T20 cricket for Australia because you're getting enough game time to start to develop that squad mentality. Now we've got a specific date in mind, which is the start of the World Cup, to really build that 12-month foundation of a really solid T20 side that can beat the best and sustain that for a long period of time," Finch added.
While Sundayâs crushing 134-run win is just the start theyâd have wanted, the Aussies will look to wrap up the series at the Gabba on Wednesday.
