‘I’ve been a bit negative’: Finch aiming for Boult in T20 World Cup opener

Australia may have history squarely on their side heading into Saturday’s opening Twenty20 World Cup match against New Zealand at the SCG but for captain Aaron Finch the Kiwis are from the land of the long dark cloud.

It is more than 10 years since New Zealand have lowered green and gold colours in Australia across any form of the game, but Finch has not prospered against the Kiwis.

Aaron Finch batting against England in Canberra last week.Credit:Getty Images

From 251 internationals combining Tests, one-day and T20 matches, Finch has a batting average of 37 with 19 hundreds. In 21 white-ball matches against the Kiwis it is 24 with no hundreds.

Indeed, New Zealand can be blamed for putting the final stake into Finch’s one-day career, dismissing him for scores of 5, 0, and 5 during an already forgotten one-day series in Cairns last month, where Finch retired from the 50-over game.

His previous score against New Zealand was also five, in the final of the last T20 World Cup 11 months ago, but that match has a silver lining. Finch led Australia to their first T20 World Cup title, with player of the match Mitch Marsh and player of the series David Warner batting them to victory.

Of more immediate concern for Finch is the weather, with Sydney going into another cricket season living under its own long and lingering clouds.

“If there is rain around and the game is shortened, that can dictate what you do with your team. But we’re really confident that all the stuff we’ve done in the lead-up to this that there’s enough bases we can cover with our squad,” Finch said before training at the SCG on Friday. Saturday’s match is sold out.

Remarkably, given all the wet weather, Finch claimed the pitch was “on the drier side” and suggested that Australia could play Ashton Agar as a second spinner to compliment Adam Zampa. However, that appears unlikely, with all-rounder Glenn Maxwell’s off-spin often used as a second slow-bowling option.

While Australia have one of the world’s best former left-arm spinners, Kiwi Daniel Vettori, as an assistant coach, New Zealand invited former Australian left-arm tweaker Steve O’Keefe to training on Friday.

Sydney Sixers spinner Steve O’Keefe was a special guest at New Zealand training on Friday.Credit:Getty Images

O’Keefe is the Sydney Sixers’ most successful spinner and one of the few bowlers in the Big Bash to have an economy rate under seven.

“What you see is what you get with those guys,” O’Keefe said. “They’re just lovely. They play the game in the right way, and it was good to have a little chat and share a bit of knowledge.”

New Zealand tracked O’Keefe down through former Kiwi seamer Andre Adams, who is now NSW bowling coach, and captain Kane Williamson welcomed O’Keefe’s contribution.

“We have a number of spinners in our group that were keen to have a bit of a chat, and he knows these conditions as well as anybody. It was a nice opportunity for them to have a few conversations with a very experienced spinner in this format.”

While Vettori made his name as a quality spinner, Finch was using the Kiwi’s left arm for throw downs to mirror the angle of Trent Boult. The New Zealand seamer has dismissed the Australian opener seven times during the 21 occasions they’ve met, mostly for low scores.

Former New Zealand spinning great Daniel Vettori is now an assistant coach with AustraliaCredit:Getty Images

“I think at times I’ve been a bit more negative to left-arm bowlers,” Finch said. “You’re almost batting trying not to get out as opposed to trying to be proactive.

“He [Boult] had my number no doubt. I still feel as though I’ve got a really solid game plan. There’s some technical things I can do to a left-armer that can help.”

Likely Australian team: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

Ireland send West Indies packing

Two-time champions West Indies have crashed out of the Twenty20 World Cup before the 12-team main event after being humbled by Ireland in Hobart on Friday.

With a Super 12 spot up for grabs, Ireland triumphed by nine wickets on the back of a brutal opening stand from Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling to progress to the next stage.