'Frustrated' Finch cops ODI axing on the chin

Aaron Finch concedes he's only got himself to blame for his axing from Australia's one-day international squad following a lean trot with the bat at national level.

Finch was omitted from the 14-man squad announced on Saturday for the five-match series against Pakistan beginning January 13 at the Gabba, with another experienced ODI campaigner George Bailey also losing his spot.

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KFC Big Bash League sensation Chris Lynn and Test No.3 Usman Khawaja are the two batsmen to come into the squad in their places.

And Finch, who struck 27 off 13 balls for the Melbourne Renegades as they went down to cross-town rivals the Stars by 46 runs on Saturday night, admits his recent numbers in the 50-over format haven't warranted re-selection.

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"I was obviously disappointed but at the same time I can't really kick cans, I haven't made many runs in the last couple of series," Australia's former T20 International captain said.

"(I've scored) 215 runs in my last 10 hits and that's not really good enough when you've got guys performing well in this (the BBL), performing well in the Matador (BBQs One-Day Cup).

"Of course I'm disappointed not to be playing but I've got no one else to blame but myself."

Finch has been a mainstay at the top of Australia's ODI batting order alongside vice-captain David Warner in recent times.

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The right-handed opener played in all but four of Australia's 50-over encounters in 2016, missing a one-off game against Ireland in September while he was injured for the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in New Zealand in February.

He's the No.20 ranked ODI batsman according to the International Cricket Council's charts, with the also-dropped Bailey (17th), skipper Steve Smith (10th) and Warner (third) the only Australians ahead of him.

But after managing minor tallies of 0, 19 and 3 in the recent home series against New Zealand and not having scored an ODI century for nearly 12 months, Finch suggested the message from the National Selection Panel was crystal clear in terms of how he can win his spot back.

"It was just 'make some more runs'," he said.

"When Trevor (Hohns, the NSP's interim chairman of selectors) rang me, I said, 'I can't really disagree with you'.

"Which is the sad thing. When you get dropped, you want to fire back some bullets but I had absolutely nothing.

"I've only got myself to blame for not getting runs for my last 10-12 innings."

The Finch-captained Renegades, tipped by many to possess a squad capable of taking out the BBL|06 title, were comfortably accounted for by the Stars in sweltering conditions under the Etihad Stadium roof.

The men in red were boosted by the return of fast-bowler James Pattinson but a Kevin Pietersen masterclass saw the Stars rack up 7-200.

It proved too many for the Renegades after their skipper's brief cameo, leaving an in-form Finch lamenting his inability to go and play the kind of match-winning hand Pietersen produced.

"I'm hitting them beautifully at the moment," he insisted. "I'm picking up the ball well and hitting it where I want the majority of the time.

"That was just a case of getting another start. You saw KP get a big score, Bobby Quiney getting to 50. When someone at the top gets 50 you can bat around them and guys (lower in the order) can take risks.

"But I'm not really allowing the side to do that at the moment.

"I've got out when I've done the hard work to set up an innings. It's a bit frustrating."