Warner worries no issue as Finch backs opener to fire

Aaron Finch has backed David Warner's World Cup history to be enough to overturn his horror run of form as Australia start their bid for an elusive Twenty20 title.

Warner will enter their tournament opener with South Africa tonight with a question mark over his form, after a less-than-ideal build up in Abu Dhabi.

Since landing in the UAE more than a month ago, Warner has scored just three runs in four innings.

The rough patch includes scores of zero and two before he was dropped by IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad, before another duck and a one in Australia's two warm-up games.

After sitting out tours of West Indies and Bangladesh, the 14 balls Warner faced in those innings double as his only competitive cricket since April.

But Finch is not deterred, pointing to Warner's knack of making runs in big tournaments, after his opening partner was the second leading run-scorer in the 2019 ODI World Cup.

Notably, Warner also entered that without a big score in his four warm-up matches on return for Australia after his 12-month ban.

Overall, Warner has averaged above 60 for Australia in ODI World Cups, but that figure drops to 21.50 at a strike-rate of 128.88 in his five T20 World Cups.

In last year's IPL, held at the same time of year before the Australian summer, Warner was the tournament's third top scorer with 548 runs in 16 innings, averaging 39.14 and striking at 134.64.

"I'm backing Davey's ability, I'm backing his judgement," Finch said. 

"If you look at his World Cup history, it's bloody good. Would he like more runs? Absolutely. Everyone would like more runs all the time. 

"But he's one of the greatest players Australia's ever produced and I've got no doubts that come game one, he'll be up and firing, ready to go."

How Warner gets away will be crucial for Australia.

The slower wickets in the UAE made the Powerplays vital in the second stage of the IPL, with teams who won the opening six overs winning 74 per cent of games.

Starts were also a problem for an understrength Australia in their most recent series losses to West Indies and Bangladesh, outscored in the Powerplay in eight of 10 games.

"Even though it's different surfaces to what the IPL used, we saw the impact that had," Finch said. 

"The teams that won the Powerplay, that went a long way to winning the game as the wickets deteriorated. 

"I think the wickets first off in the tournament, will start out a little bit better, and probably be a little bit more consistent throughout that 40 overs. 

"But as it gets a bit more traffic and the and the tournament gets a bit deeper, that might slow up and spin a little bit more. 

"But (still) the Powerplay is going to be crucial no doubt for both teams."

Meanwhile Finch is confident in his own match fitness, after playing both warm-up games against New Zealand and India with scores of 24 and eight respectively.

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Australia's matches

Oct 23v South Africa in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Oct 28v Sri Lanka in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

Oct 30v England in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

Nov 4v Bangladesh in Dubai (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

Nov 6v West Indies in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2021 ICC T20 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SQUADS FOR ALL 16 TEAMS

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia