‘I was the weak link’ – Aaron Finch bemoans poor form after loss to India
Australia’s ODI captain Aaron Finch believed he was the “weak link” in the team’s batting line-up after his side lost the ODI series to India 1-2.
Finch managed scores of 6, 6, and 14 and was dismissed on all three occasions by Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. These returns came after a disappointing Test series, where Finch returned scores of 0, 11, 50, 25, 8 and 3 in the first three Tests. He was dropped for the final Test in Sydney, and left out altogether from the squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka.
The 33-year-old now has a break from the international game as Australia’s next limited-overs assignment – an away series against India beginning February 24 – is over a month away. He wants to use this period to work on his game.
India's tour of Australia is finally over, and a seven-wicket win for the visitors at the MCG was a fitting end.@Ben_Wisden and @Taha_Wisden dissect the lessons learned from the three-match ODI series.https://t.co/0RBgDpbtWR
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 18, 2019
“It’ll be good to be at home and to spend some time around some friends again,” Finch was quoted as saying by AAP.
“It was obviously a disappointing series. Nowhere near as many runs as I would have liked or as big an impact with the bat.
“I was probably the weak link in that, which is disappointing for me as the captain of the side. I think this time will be really good to be able to work on my game with some more time in the schedule.”
Aaron Finch was also dropped from the Test side for the Sri Lanka series
Finch’s ODI form has dipped ever since he made his Test debut against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October last year. He had three centuries and a half-century in his first eight innings of the last calendar year, but since then, he has managed 5, 41, 11, 6, 6 and 14.
Finch said the break would “allow me to work on specific things in my game”. “When you’re trying to tinker with a few things with a day in between games and things like that, you don’t have enough time to hit enough balls to be able to get that set,” he said.
“I’m really excited about the next couple of weeks to work on my game and hopefully get that right. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself that I can do that, but time will tell.”
