Australia’s limited-overs captain knows well about his white-ball career. After having failed in five Test Cricket matches, Aaron Finch is not expecting a call for the upcoming Ashes series. The 32-years-old Finch has though built quite a solid career with Australia’s T20 and ODI side.
Finch has had his share of ups and downs in cricket career, debuting in T20I for Australia in 2011. And he earned his place in the team as a permanent player with his then T20I record for 156 runs against England. And then seven years later, Finch ended up setting a new record of 172 runs against Zimbabwe.
However, Finch’s Test Cricket career was not so brightly lit-up. Last year in the United Arab Emirates, Finch opened his Test Cricket career against Pakistan. He hit his first half-century in his debut Test innings but couldn’t perform up to expectations in the rest of the matches. He has thus far scored a total of 278 runs with an average of 27.80.
Finch reasoned him failing to cash in the chances as a possible ‘no call’ from The Ashes
And when asked about his chances of being called for The Ashes, referring his current performance in World Cup 2019, Finch bluntly answered it as ‘no’. The right-handed batsman said that having missed out the opportunity in Test cricket, his name will be ‘way down the list’.
“I haven’t honestly thought about it whatsoever. I’m not sure what they [the selectors] are planning with the squad or anything like that,” he said. “Obviously I’d love to play if the opportunity comes up. I think being The Ashes is way down the list, or I’m way down the list, having missed my opportunity throughout the summer.”
Further explaining, Finch said that the arrival of ‘young guys’ has also made it difficult for him to make it to the coveted Test event. He said that the guys now coming in have the talent and are more likely to be on top of the list.
“The short answer is, no. I would love … of course I’d love to. But the young guys have come in and done such a good job, and they have got such bright futures, all of them. Whether they all get picked or whether one or two misses out, I don’t think that will be the end of the world for them.”
The ODI and T20I skipper of Australia picks Will Pucovski as an ‘absolute superstar’
According to Finch, the current players chosen for Test cricket are doing a great job. The aggressive batsman then went on to pick names of the young lads showing off their skills in the Test game. He picked Will Pucovski as an emerging ‘superstar’.
“The guys who come in, the young guys come and played really well. Kurtis Patterson played beautifully. Heady [Travis Head] has done a great job. We saw him evolve over the summer and changed his game or changed his mental attitude, I think really quickly to Test cricket, which was a real positive from such a young guy,” said Finch.
He said, “Will Pucovski, he’s an absolute superstar in the making. I think that between them guys, and you’ve got [Cameron] Bancroft who started off the summer over here really well. Joe Burns, unfortunately, had to go home for some personal reasons. But they are all guys that are right there in the mix with Steve [Smith] and Dave [Warner] coming back into the frame, as well.”
In the 5-0 ODI sweep in the UAE against Pakistan, Finch ended up scoring 451 runs with two centuries. In the ongoing World Cup, Finch has scores of 66, 6, 32 and 86 and 153.