Tag: Aaron Finch

LAHORE: Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch has termed the ODI series against Pakistan as the preparations for the ICC ODI World Cup, scheduled next year.

Finch, while talking to the virtual press conference ahead of the historic ODI series against Pakistan, has termed it as an important one and also a part of preparations for the next world cup.

“This series is important for us as it is a part of our team’s preparations for the ICC World Cup 2023,” he said.

“I think it will be a highly competitive series against Pakistan,” he added.

The Australian captain further acknowledged the Pakistan team’s strength and said they have world-class players, which will be challenging.

“Pakistan is a tough opposition. They have Babar Azam, who is currently leading the batting charts in ODI cricket. Also, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, who can swing the new ball,” he said.

The 35-years-old captain Finch also opined about Australia’s historic triumph in the recently concluded Benaud-Qadir Trophy and said his team will strive to carry the same momentum.

“Australia’s victory in the Test series was simply outstanding. We will look to go with the same momentum in the white-ball series,” he concluded.

READ: PAK vs AUS: Mitchell Marsh sustains injury, doubtful for white-ball series

MELBOURNE: Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch claimed that the away series against Pakistan will be a tough challenge.

Finch, while talking to the media via a virtual press conference, termed Pakistan as a good side, while claiming it would be a competitive series.

“Pakistan is a strong team and it will be a tough competition between the two sides,” he said.

“It is their home series so we have to prepare accordingly. It is an important series for both of us,” he added.

The Australian captain also commented about their preparation for the tour, said there are a lot of inexperienced players in the squad, however, backed them that they are capable of doing well.

“They are quite inexperienced for Australia but I think playing T20 cricket will help them in that regard. There is a lot of skill in the group and guys that have been around one-day cricket for a long time domestically as well,” he said.

“We have started training here. The players are looking in good touch, we just need to adjust in 50-overs conditions,” he added.

The 35-years-old captain then went on to comment about his fitness, said he is doing completely fit and is looking to score as many runs as he could before the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup later this year.

“I am 100 percent fit now. Looking forward to scoring as many runs as possible before the World Cup,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the white-ball series between Pakistan and Australia will commence on March 29 in Lahore.

READ: Pakistan’s white-ball squad players to enter the bio-secure bubble today

MELBOURNE: Australia’s white-ball captain – Aaron Finch has confirmed his availability for Australia’s historical tour to Pakistan after a gap of 24 years, said he can not wait to tour the country.

Finch is excited to play in Pakistan after Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed the tour’s schedule yesterday.

Talking to Sportstar here, Finch stated he can not wait to play in Pakistan and also claimed that world cricket will be much better when Pakistan cricket prosper.

“I can’t wait to go to Pakistan for the white-ball leg, as a player,” he said.

“That’s one part of the world that has been deprived of [international] cricket for a long time now, and world cricket’s in a much better place when Pakistan’s thriving as a cricket nation,” he added.

It is worth mentioning here that CA and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the revised schedule of the historical tour. The Aussies will now start their campaign in Rawalpindi instead of Karachi by playing the first Test of three-match series from March 4 to March 8.

The second Test, however, will be played in Karachi from March 12 to March 16.

Revised schedule:

1st Test:  4-8 March, Rawalpindi
2nd Test: 12-16 March, Karachi
3rd Test: 21-25 March, Lahore
1st ODI: March 29, Rawalpindi
2nd ODI: March 31, Rawalpindi
3rd ODI: April 2, Rawalpindi
One-off T20I: April 5, Rawalpindi

READ: Australia will start their tour from Rawalpindi instead of Karachi: confirms PCB

Karachi: Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch has named off-spinner Saeed Ajmal as the toughest bowler he has ever faced.
The 34-year-old Finch while hosting a QnA session on Instagram, rated Ajmal as the toughest.

It must be noted that world-class batters in the past have rated Ajmal as the toughest bowler. England’s Joe Root and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis are among them.
Saeed represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 115 ODIs and 64 T20Is from 2008-2015. Collectively, he picked 447 wickets in international cricket.

Read: Root names Ajmal as most ‘skillful bowler’ ever faced