Australian opener Aaron Finch and former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum share a similar trait between them– Destruction. Both the muscular right handed openers can demolish bowling attacks within overs and their brand of cricket is simply too exhilarating. In the years gone by, McCullum was just too explosive for the Blackcaps at the top of the order. In the modern day game, it is Aaron Finch playing the same role for the Kangaroos.
In his recent chat with cricket.com.au, McCullum heaped praises on Finch for consistently doing well. The highly sought after T20 icon was also of the view that playing different roles within the IPL had massively helped Finch to develop as a cricketer. Both McCullum and Finch represented the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 and shared some high octane stands.
“He was outstanding for us,” McCullum said. The Kiwi also mentioned how donning the role of a finisher helped Finch. “He played in some different roles for us. He started off at the top of the order and performed brilliantly, then got injured, Dwayne Smith came in and he played really well. “So Finchy put his hand up for us and said ‘I’ll bat in the middle for us then’. And he did it, and played brilliantly again.”
“He probably learnt a lot from playing a different role.” “Because he’s still young in the game, he’ll benefit hugely from that. “His ability to come in and straight away attack the spinners. Not just being able to manipulate them in the field but actually being able to clear the ropes against them and create a strike-rate from ball one,” McCullum further added.
Admitting that Finch can apply the skills he learnt in the IPL in international cricket, McCullum said, “I think when he goes back to the top of the order and gets away to a good start, when the spinners come on, he’s going to be able to continue to accelerate throughout the innings. “I think there were some really good learnings for him from the IPL, he performed brilliantly and I really enjoyed spending time with him both on and off the field.”