Australia is poised to stick with skipper Aaron Finch through its T20 World Cup defence as it emerged his status as captain is playing a major role in his retention in the XI.
In the surest sign yet of the faith the reigning champions hold in their leader, selectors had Finch in each of the team configurations they had planned on Friday night regardless of how many overs were to be lost in the washed-out game against England.
Steve Smith remains in the frame as part of selectors’ contingency planning while even last-minute call-up Cameron Green can expect a shock inclusion in a shortened game if weather continues to disrupt the global event.
Such is the flexibility selectors have at their disposal, the four or five different teams selectors had in play for the various rain-affected scenarios at the MCG included almost the entire 15-player squad, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Selectors are backing captain Aaron Finch to play through the T20 World Cup.Credit:Getty
The big wet in Melbourne denied Finch the opportunity to rebound from his painstaking knock in Perth, but he is being afforded the respect one would expect for Australia’s leading T20 international run-scorer and World Cup-winning captain.
Coach and selector Andrew McDonald, a close friend and confidant of Finch, issued a strong public endorsement of his close friend and on-field leader.
“He was selected for tonight’s team, he’s our captain, so I think that says everything with the way we internally view where he’s at,” McDonald said. “He didn’t have his greatest night the other night, and I think he’s pretty much forthright in his views on that.”
McDonald said Finch’s contribution to the side lay in more than just the runs he put on the board.
“It’s really how the team functions. He’s really important to us in terms of connecting the strategy of what we want to do, and his captaincy record in big tournaments has been pretty good,” McDonald said.
“So we feel as though that captaincy is a real benefit for us. So, we’re not prepared to shift that at this stage. We feel as though that he will come good, and when he does come good, I think that then probably puts the finishing touches on us being the team that we want to be, no doubt.”
The wash-out denied Smith his best opportunity to break into the XI, but McDonald has left the door ajar for the country’s best long-form batter of his generation, whose best hope of getting a game appears to be in bowler-friendly conditions.
“He gets discussed regularly,” McDonald said. “The surface and the opposition really probably shift our thinking and get to our final decision around what that 11 looks like. So, he’s definitely come up in conversation. As I said, there’s a role there for him.”
Australia must defeat Ireland and Afghanistan by big margins to give itself the best chance of making the semis, but run rate will likely not be a factor if England drop points in the run home.
The early forecast for Brisbane on Monday (against Ireland) and Adelaide on Friday (against Afghanistan) is encouraging for the hosts.
