“I always had confidence that I’d be in the squad”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia opener Aaron Finch has revealed that there was no doubt in his mind that he would be part of the country’s Champions Trophy squad.
Finch was dropped for Australia’s five-match ODI series against Pakistan in January before returning for their three-match ODI series against New Zealand from January to February.
In Australia’s first Champions Trophy warm-up match against Sri Lanka on Friday, Finch was in destructive form as he hammered 137 off 109 balls, which included 11 boundaries and six sixes, to lead his side to a two-wicket win.
“I think you go through patches when you feel like you’re playing well and then you go through patches when you feel like you’re not playing well and feel that everything is falling away or slipping away,” Finch said. “I always had confidence that I’d be in the squad. I’ve played for the best part of five years now and had some pretty decent one-day cricket so I was always confident, but it’s not up to me, is it?
“Lynny’s been in great form in the IPL and there’s been some talking points around that throughout the media, so it was nice to get some runs.”
Finch admitted that he was highly impressed with the conditions at The Oval even though more than 600 runs was scored during the match.
“I have tinkered with a few things in my technique over the last couple weeks and it seemed to feel pretty good,” he said. “The outfield here was lightning and the wicket was beautiful so any time you beat the fielder, it was four. Which gives you great confidence as a batter, when you hit a couple of balls in the gap early on and you look up and you’re on 15 or 20 pretty quick. It’s just a great place to play, I love playing over here.”
Despite having made his presence felt against Sri Lanka, Finch insisted that he won’t get carried away.
“You can’t win a tournament in a practice game,” he said. “It’s just about making sure my preparations are as consistent as they can be.
“I think playing in the IPL then coming here and continually playing for the last two years is a good thing. You get a bit of a run on and a bit of a rhythm.”