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Finch on thin ice for World Cup

2nd March, 2019
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Expert
2nd March, 2019
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Australia’s World Cup planning is being hindered by the wretched form of captain Aaron Finch, who has floundered in white ball cricket since making his Test debut in October.

Finch yesterday lasted just three balls before edging behind for a duck in the first ODI in India.

Since earning a baggy green in the UAE, the 32-year-old incredibly has averaged just 9.8 with the bat from 16 innings in white ball cricket for Australia. In that same period he also struggled badly in Tests, averaging 16 across six innings in the home series against India.

If you put that all together it means that, in his last 22 innings for Australia across all formats, Finch has averaged just 11. That is not just a form blip. That is a deep form trough stretching back almost five months.

If Finch was not the captain he may well already have been axed from the ODI side. The fact he is the skipper is what is putting Australian in such a difficult place. Australia faced a similar situation in the lead up to the last World Cup when stand-in skipper George Bailey was starved of runs.

Bailey had averaged just 23 with the bat in his previous 23 ODIs prior to the World Cup and was dumped for that tournament in favour of full-time captain Michael Clarke, who had been out for a long time with injury.

There are two key differences between that situation and the one which currently challenges Australia. The first is that back in 2015 Australia had an obvious and attractive replacement for Bailey in Clarke, a skilled tactician with a sensational ODI batting record.

Whereas Australia right now are bereft of captaincy options. Their two long-term leaders in Steve Smith and David Warner are banned from holding such positions when they return from their suspensions, which end this month.

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Steve Smith

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Australia only have a handful of other players who seem fairly assured of being in their best XI in the World Cup – quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis and veteran batsman Shaun Marsh. Of that group only Maxwell has significant recent experience as a captain and, given the way he has been treated by the Australian team hierarchy, it is very hard to see Maxwell captaining at the World Cup.

What is undeniable, though, is that Australia are not in a position to carry an underperforming captain through the World Cup. Were they still an elite ODI side, then perhaps a case could be made that they can afford to back in an out-of-form skipper. But Australia are so far off the pace of World Cup favourites England and India that the only way they can bridge that distance is by taking a few risks.

Punting your stumbling skipper amounts to such a risk. Finch should be given until the end of this series to prove that he has turned around his form. If he cannot do so then Australia must seriously consider dropping Finch for their last series before the World Cup against Pakistan in the UAE starting later this month.

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