The stats don’t lie, Finch is one of the world’s best

Personally, I'd not have any of those three within cooee of the Test Team. SO many other players with exciting potential- Silk, Burns, Maddison etc. Hughes before anyone else though- I think he deserves it, and I'm expecting big things from his next stint.

agree also

Finch's recent Yorkshire performances were certainly enigmatic, he made 291 1st class runs @48 from 5 matches and 256 20/20 runs @25.6 from 10 matches, his career 1st class strike rate is only 54 and his shield season averages in order are 37, 34,17,11 and 17, it'll be interesting to see if he can get back into the Victorian shield team next season.

You know Alan, for a batsman who has scored 8853 runs at 46.59 at first class level, 3524 runs at 48.27 at List A level and 1104 runs at 44.16 at T20 level, Hughes inability to play spin at all doesnt seem to have affected his performances, which overall places him in the top 3 batsmen in the country for all forms combined. No one is questioning that Hughes has had problems with various forms of bowling including spin. But if he is so successful in scoring runs in all forms of cricket against all forms of bowling, what does that mean about the rest of the players we have here in Australia. Point is that he has some problems with spin but to say he cant play it seems totally at odds with his performances

Guys Hughes can't play spin, why is this so difficult to deal with

Haha

15??? That is abysmal... I hope you're wrong Rellum

That's how you andI think Ronan, but the selectors put a high value on limited overs form. Finch will be next in line if Hughes and Doolan are cast aside.

Over the past three Shield seasons combined, Finch has averaged 15. FIFTEEN. While he has an enormous amount of work to do as an FC player, he is developing into a sensational limited overs batsman and is a serious weapon for Australia heading into the World Cup. He's still only 27 so has plenty of years ahead of him to improve his play in all three formats.

Agreed Matthew Gently. Needs big runs + solid performances in Shield before he can be considered for Tests. I don't think Finch is close to the Test team at all - I'd rather Khawaja and Cowan back a thousand times more than Finch in the Test XI….

I was waiting for someone to bring up Bevan. There is no parallel because Bevan's first-class record was outstanding. Four- and 5-day cricket is my yardstick for judging the talent of an emerging batsman, and I'm yet to be impressed by Finch. What could change my mind? If Finch continues his current form and helps Australia win a high-stakes match at the coming World Cup, then I'll happily eat my words.

And bat against who? The same bowlers as last season and the one or two before that? He is not the only one who hasn't had success against spin. Send him back to shield to get runs and yet he does that and dominates but it still isn't good enough for some.

"There is no shame in being a One-day specialist (or 20/20 for that matter). Luck has nothing to do with it, some players games are suited to one or the other, he actually does build an innings in the One dayers…" Well said Steve.

He's been playing well in the County as a number 6. So well, in fact, Jason Gillespie (his County coach) has called for him to be in test side. "The fact is he would need AT LEAST two full seasons of the shield averaging near to 50 for him to even be considered anyway." Absolutely agree. That's his plan, reckons he's a shot by the time he's 30.

Does it really matter that he doens't convert in Shield. Ultimately he is picked for the shorter forms of the game based on his state form in the shorter forms.... he may never have the game to become a test player... doesn't mean he is a poor cricketer... There is no shame in being a One-day specialist (or 20/20 for that matter). Luck has nothing to do with it, some players games are suited to one or the other, he actually does build an innings in the One dayers... Look at Michael Bevan he scored plenty of Shield runs and it never made him a successful test cricketer.... however he was arguably our best ever One day batsmen, didn't make me any less a fan of Bevan carving up attacks in the one-day format. I'm quite happy to see Finch pile on the runs in ODI's and 20/20 for years to come. Success as a player doesn't just come down to the longer formats.

I want some more.

I wouldn't bring Hughes anywhere near the test side as he has to be one of the worst players of spin going around, he handles pace well but looks very vulenerable against good spin, this was evident against Swann last year as well and I think guys like Ajmal and Narine will do ever more damage against him, he needs to go back to shield to work on this weakness.