Calm Finch considers order for T20 chaos

One of Aaron Finch's first tasks as Australia's new T20 captain will be setting the batting order and, more specifically, choosing whether he will return to the top of the order.

To accommodate the likes of David Warner, D'Arcy Short and Chris Lynn in Australia's triumphant T20 international tri-series campaign in February, Finch was pushed down the order to No.5.

In that unfamiliar position, he used his experience and brute force to produce three unbeaten innings, scores of 39no, 36no and 18no, to safely deliver Australia a hat-trick of victories.

But now that Warner is serving his 12-month ban for his involvement in the Cape Town ball-tampering incident, Finch has the 'c' next to his name and a vacant opening spot to fill.

And the Victorian could be the man who takes Warner's place at the top of the order for Australia when they play England in a one-off T20I at Edgbaston on June 27.

"I've had a lot of success opening the batting for Australia," Finch told cricket.com.au.

"A lot of it (the batting order) will depend on the makeup of the side.

"If you look at our side, there's three or four guys who have opened or do open the batting for their Big Bash franchise or have done it for Australia.

"It's important to put your own agenda aside and make sure that you balance the side and not push anything else.

"For me, it will be about seeing what the makeup of the side looks like with me at the top or me in the middle.

"D'Arcy (Short) played really well in the tri-series recently. We've seen the results 'Maxi' (Glenn Maxwell) has had when he's opened the batting in T20 cricket for Australia.

"It just depends purely on the structure of the side and where you see your match-winners performing the best."

While it's still unclear whether Finch will return to the top of the order – where he struck a world-record 156 against England in 2013 – his elevation to T20 captain was seemingly an easier decision.

When Steve Smith and Warner were suspended and banned from holding a leadership role in Australian cricket for two years and life respectively, Finch – who had already captained his country nine times in the game's shortest format – was the obvious choice.

But the 31-year-old who will lead Australia in Birmingham next month as skipper is a vastly more composed captain than the one who last had the full-time gig, in January 2016.

"I'm probably a little bit calmer out on the field," Finch said. "The more you captain, the more you play, the more you learn.

"At the time I thought I knew my stuff about T20 but you look back and you're still learning, you're still developing your own game, you're still trying to find a process that works for you consistently.

"You'll just see a wiser, calmer head."

One thing Finch is determined to bring with him to the UK is Australia's winning momentum from the tri-series played in the Antipodes earlier this year.

Australia won five out of five matches in that tournament against England and New Zealand, chasing down monster targets and applying the pressure with the ball to rocket up to second on the ICC T20I team rankings, just below first-placed Pakistan.

"What we noticed in that series is that we were very confident in our abilities but we're also very calm," Finch said.

"We didn't allow teams to settle against us with bat or the ball. Our new-ball bowling was outstanding, although there was a couple of games where they got away early, but they're equally allowed to play well as well.

"People took a real responsibility upon themselves when they were in a position to win the game for the side. That was a real positive, a positive that all the boys can take into that one-off match against England and the tri-series in Zimbabwe.

"Everybody performed their job really well but there was a real calmness around the group.

"We were chasing 240-odd at Eden Park but there was an unspoken confidence that we were good enough to get the job done if we stuck to our processes and played to our own strengths.

"That was the real key – we all played to our own strengths. We didn't go away from what we know works for us.

"That can often happen when a player comes into an international squad early on, you think you have to play a different way to what got you there.

"We just had guys doing their job really well and we had a lot of success.

"Hopefully we can take that in with us and I've got full confidence that we can."

Qantas ODI Tour of England

June 7 Warm-up v Sussex, Hove (D/N)

June 9 Warm-up v Middlesex, Lord's

June 13 First ODI, The Oval (D/N)

June 16 Second ODI, Cardiff

June 19 Third ODI, Trent Bridge (D/N)

June 21 Fourth ODI, Durham (D/N)

June 24 Fifth ODI, Old Trafford

June 27 Only T20, Edgbaston (D/N)

T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe

Sunday, July 1: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

Monday, July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

Tuesday, July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

Wednesday, July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

Thursday, July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

Friday, July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

Sunday, July 8: Final