Finch tips Stoinis to dominate top level

Australia's week-long tour of New Zealand may have ended in a series defeat, but stand-in ODI captain Aaron Finch says Australian cricket has unearthed a future international force in Marcus Stoinis.

While the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series yielded zero in terms of team success, there was one overwhelming positive to come from the brief sojourn across the Tasman, with Stoinis announcing himself as a genuine international-standard batting allrounder.

The 27-year-old stunned the cricket world a week ago in Auckland when he lashed 11 sixes in a remarkable maiden century in just his second ODI, adding three wickets to complete a record-breaking performance.

Black Caps coach Mike Hesson labelled him 'Superman' and the tag seemed fitting for the strapping Victorian, who was just about bulletproof during his 146 not out that led his team to within seven runs of the most dramatic of victories.

Stoinis backed up the performance with an impressive 42 from 48 deliveries in Australia's loss in yesterday's decider in Hamilton, with the right-hander demonstrating a blend of patience, power and perhaps most importantly confidence that Finch believes will serve him well through the remainder of his career.

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"A lot of the time at this level (success depends on having) a real belief that you can do it," the opening batsman explained.

"Until you actually do it the first time and prove to yourself more than anybody else that you can do it, it can be quite a mental hurdle to get over.

"Every time (Stoinis) walks to the crease in any format, whoever he's playing for now, it's in the back of his mind that he can take on a world-class attack and do it very successfully.

"So going forward, that's going to hold him and Australian cricket in fabulous stead; when you have guys who are three-dimensional players like that, they don't come around every day, so you embrace it.

"Hopefully that can take him forward and he can dominate international cricket."

During his epic hundred at Eden Park, Stoinis' temperament and ability to sum up a run chase belied his level of experience in ODI cricket, as he paced his innings with 73 from 84 balls before exploding at almost exactly the right time, with his final 73 runs coming from just 33 deliveries.

In the decider, with Australia set 282 to win, he took a similar approach, looking to time his run with only the tail in support, and while he holed out to long-on from the spin of Mitchell Santner, those impressive traits were noticed by Black Caps captain and star batsman Kane Williamson.

"He had a fantastic series," said Williamson, himself renowned for possessing one of the coolest temperaments in the game.

"Obviously the first game was pretty special for him, to contribute with the bat and ball like that was one that he'll remember for a long time.

"But to back it up with another contribution today, to try and take the game deep, he appeared to be very clear with his situational awareness.

"And he hits the ball very hard ... so it's a very good series for him."

National coach Darren Lehmann echoed Finch's message that the key for Stoinis, who had been recognised by selectors as having abundant talent as an allrounder, was self-belief.

And that, it seems, was discovered in New Zealand, providing a destructive package for Australia moving forward.

"We've seen in (domestic) one-day cricket that he's got the power," Lehmann said. "It was just the belief for him.

"He backed it up again (on Sunday).

"Now he's got that belief, the world's his oyster, so it's up to him to keep kicking goals and away he goes."