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Dumped Australian batsman Aaron Finch says he had no defence to offer when selectors swung the axe.
Finch has been dropped from Australia’s one-day squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan, with George Bailey and Hilton Cartwright also axed from the 14-man squad.
The former Australian Twenty20 captain is in the midst of an ODI form slump, scoring just 215 runs in his past 10 innings.
It came as no surprise to Finch that interim chief selector Trevor Hohns was bearing bad news when he rang him earlier in the week.
“When Trevor rang me, I said ‘I can’t disagree with you’, which is the sad thing,” Finch said.
“Usually if you get dropped you want to be able to fire back some bullets but I had absolutely nothing.
“I was obviously disappointed but at the same time, I can’t really kick cans. I haven’t made many runs in the last couple of series. I’ve got no one else to blame but myself.”
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said it was a tough decision to drop Finch but challenged the 30-year-old to make runs for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash.
Finch belted 27 from 13 balls in the Renegades’ loss to the Melbourne Stars on Saturday night but again failed to build upon a promising start.
“I’ve got out when I’ve almost done the hard work to set up an innings and it’s a bit frustrating,” he said.
“I’m hitting them beautifully at the moment. I’m picking up the ball well. I’m just getting out every now and again.
“When someone at the top gets 50, you can bat around them and guys can take risks. I’m not really allowing the side to do that at the moment.”
Finch’s attention for the time being will be consumed by his role as captain of the Renegades.
But he says the opportunity to lead his side to a BBL championship is no consolation for losing his ODI spot.
“Any time you get the opportunity to play for Australia, you take it with both hands, no matter what’s happening around you,” he said.
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