Finch in line to take over Australia ODI captaincy

Cricket365
July 9, 2018

Australia coach Justin Langer has hinted that T20I captain Aaron Finch could be in line to take over the captaincy of the ODI side in the near future.

Finch led the Aussies in the T20 tri-series in Harare and although they lost the final against Pakistan on Sunday, Langer was impressed with the opening batsman.

The 31-year-old Finch was supreme with the bat in the tri-series, scoring 306 runs at 76.50 including a world record T20I score of 172 against the hosts Zimbabwe.

Tim Paine is currently the captain of the ODI side but a series whitewash recently in England coupled with the wicketkeeper’s poor form with the bat could prompt a change in leadership in the 50-over format.

Langer said in Harare on Sunday: “After this tour we’ll have a really, really close look at everything we’re doing at the moment including our leadership, which is such an incredibly high priority in Australian cricket.

“Finchy has definitely put his best foot forward in this series. So we’ll look at that. We’ll look at all our staff.

“We’ll look at everything to make sure we keep flying forward, as is the expectation of the Australian cricket team.”

Langer praised the way his T20I skipper kept giving the Aussies good starts in the tournament.

Finch’s tri-series tournament included knocks of 68 not out, 172, 16, 3 and 47 and was a major reason why the Australia made the final.

Langer continued: “He’s been brilliant. Finchy and I spoke privately yesterday and I told him he’s done a great job at the top of the order.

“To have someone that dynamic is a great example to all our players. As we saw from Pakistan today, you’ve got to play fearless cricket.

“(Opening batsman) D’Arcy [Short] started taking steps towards that today, like we’ve seen from him in Big Bash cricket. That’s how he needs to play his cricket.”