'Not up to scratch': Finch fighting technical battle

Australia men's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is determined to turn around his run of low scores, admitting he is battling to bed down a key technical adjustment early in his batting innings.

Finch conceded he "hasn't been up to scratch" after being dismissed lbw for his second duck in as many innings on Saturday in Australia's ODI series-deciding defeat to Pakistan in Lahore.

The 35-year-old has been challenged by deliveries that swing or seam back towards him, particularly early in his innings, with Shaheen Shah Afridi (with a full toss in the second ODI) and Haris Rauf (with a ball that nipped off the surface in the third match) trapping him plumb in front of the stumps before he had scored.

Finch had also struggled for fluency in the series opener, making 23 off 36 and reaching the boundary just once in good batting conditions. 

It comes after a home T20 campaign against Sri Lanka in which Finch was out for single digits in three of the five games, demoting himself from his favoured opening spot for two matches. 

The right-hander has trained to stop his head from falling over towards the off-side in the nets but acknowledged his technical cues are coming undone in the heat of battle.

 Image Id: B13D66032A744A26BA40B29D15C4013D Image Caption: A side-by-side comparison of Finch's past two dismissals // Getty

"My head falling across slightly – it creeps into my first five or six balls in a game," Finch told reporters after Australia lost to Pakistan in an ODI series for the first time in 20 years.

"At training, I seem to line up everything quite well. My head gets forward and I can keep it quite stable and upright. (But with) the adrenaline and the nerves (of a game), my head just tends to fall over slightly and … gets outside the line of my body for my first 10 balls

"Once you get past that first 10 balls it's not really an issue and any kind of technical flaw you can work with. So it's about getting through that initial part (of my innings) which I haven't done in this series."

Finch reaffirmed his desire to lead Australia at the 2023 ODI World Cup before departing for Pakistan but his recent international form has, by his own admission, been short of expectations.

One bad ODI series is hardly cause for panic but the fact his most recent 50-over series before that – a home campaign against India in which Finch made 114, 60 and 75 in – was played way back in December 2020 means selectors have little else to consider but his T20 form.

In those 16 months between ODIs, Finch played 24 international T20s and has averaged 25 with a strike-rate of 119.

A knee injury hampered him for much of that period, including during Australia's World Cup win in November, but the Victorian says it is feeling better on the Pakistan tour than it has in 12 months following a period of rehabilitation back in Melbourne.

Perhaps more concerning for Australia is the fact Finch was out for single digits in nearly half of those 24 T20I innings, with his early struggles continuing in this latest ODI campaign in which Australia were handicapped from the get-go in two of the three matches.

"It hasn't been up to scratch in the Sri Lanka series and this series here, there's no doubting that," said Finch.

"I don't need you to tell me that it's frustrating.

"As you get older you probably question yourself a bit more.

"But all my training has been really positive. It's just been the first couple of balls getting my pad in the way. That's been a theme throughout my career. It'd be nice if that didn't happen.

"But I'm very confident I can turn it around in the next series against Sri Lanka."

Australia travel to Sri Lanka in June to play five ODIs and three T20Is and are set to play a host of white-ball matches in the lead-in to their T20 World Cup title defence on home soil later this year.

Finch will also lead his country in a one-off T20 against Pakistan on Wednesday morning (AEDT) before he joins his new Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders following a last-minute call-up. 

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

First Test: Match drawn

March 12-16: Match drawn

March 21-25: Australia win by 115 runs

Pakistan ODI and T20 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique*, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq*, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Saud Shakeel*, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir (*ODIs only)

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa

March 29: Australia win by 88 runs

March 31: Pakistan win by six wickets

April 2: Pakistan win by nine wickets

April 5: Only T20I, Lahore

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports