It has been a brilliant tournament so far for the Australian team apart from the game against the Indian National Cricket Team. Despite losing the game, they finished all the remaining games on the right side of things. Meanwhile, it impressed the former English skipper Michael Vaughan, who called Aaron Finch as the best captain.
The 41-run margin might tell a different story but everyone knows how close the encounter was. Pakistan needed 44 runs to win from 35 balls with three wickets in hand and Finch persisted with Mitchell Starc, who delivered the knock out blow by taking two wickets in the 45th over.
Aaron Finch is outstanding as captain – Michael Vaughan
Vaughan hailed Finch’s shrewd and brave decision-making, and called him the best captain at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 so far, as Australia completed their third win of the tournament.
Michael Vaughan recalls the game when Aaron Finch used his bowlers to the perfection against Windies cricket team and then in the game against Pakistan while defending the tallies. Both the games were in opposition team pockets but he pulled it back brilliantly.
“I have to say Aaron Finch, so far in this tournament, has been the best captain tactically,” Vaughan told the BBC. “I think he manoeuvred his team against the West Indies well to win that game. And just over the last hour (against Pakistan), when it started to get a little bit panicky for Australia, he manoeuvred his bowling attack, knowing that he had to get these overs of spin [in].”
“It was his instinct to go for that review. I don’t think he felt it was out, but right at the last minute he thought ‘you know what, we have to gamble, we have to try and get Wahab Riaz out’. He gambled on the review. He got a lot of things right in the field in terms of squeezing at the right time, putting the catches in at the right time and then spreading them out when a partnership started to develop. I thought he was outstanding as a captain,” he added.
Australia would reach semifinals:
Despite hailing Aaron Finch, he backed them to reach only semifinals. However, with the best persons in the dressing unit, Michael Vaughan feels that they got a good chance to make it further as well.
“I can’t see how they won’t be in the semi-finals,” Vaughan said. Can they win the World Cup playing to the standard they played today? I don’t think so. But do they have enough in the locker to improve and win when it really matters? Absolutely.”
Well, as Michael Vaughan said, Aaron Finch has been brilliant in both the games when they defended the tallies. It would be interesting to see how he counters the oppositions in upcoming games.