The Australian Opener Aaron Finch will captain Australia in the Twenty20 Series against Sri Lanka which is scheduled in February.
The 30-year-old Finch will take charge of three matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (17 February), Kardinia Park in Geelong (19 February) and the Adelaide Oval (22 February). He was appointed after he was recommended by Cricket Australia’s (CA) National Selection Panel (NSP) and endorsed by CA’s Board of Directors.
The Big Bash League team Melbourne Renegades captain has previously led Australia in six Twenty20 Internationals and was also in charge in Monday’s One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand in Auckland post injury induced withdrawal of Matthew Wade.
The selection panel will announce the team on Wednesday at 10am Melbourne time.
The team which will be without the services of usual captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Wade, who all are preparing for a four-match Test series against India, will be led by Finch once more and, commenting on his appointment, he said: “It’s very exciting to be back and leading the side in Steve’s absence. It’s been a rollercoaster from being captain leading up to the ICC World Twenty20 (in 2016), being injured and then Steve taking over the reins for that tournament but it’s something that, any time you get the chance to captain your country in any format, you’re very chuffed about.”
Speaking about the challenge ahead, he added, “We’ll be missing some big names, some of the biggest in world cricket, but you can’t dwell on that and it will be a fantastic opportunity for guys who’ve performed well in the KFC Big Bash League (KFC BBL) to push their case for further inclusion, and inclusion in the other formats too. There are some extraordinary players around the country that will now get an opportunity and I think that’s only a good thing for Australian cricket.”
Speaking about his appointment as the captain, Interim National Selector Trevor Hohns said: “In the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner amongst others, we believe Aaron is the logical choice to lead the side. He’s done it before and he has a great deal of experience in the format as both a captain and a batsman.”
Speaking further about the possible combination, he added, “When the squad is selected for this series we, as selectors, will obviously have one eye on the present and also one eye on the future, with the next ICC World Twenty20 scheduled to take place in Australia. The KFC Big Bash League has given us the opportunity to see plenty of exciting talent and it means we will have plenty to consider when we chose the players to join Aaron in the squad. Twenty20 International cricket is a format we certainly need to improve in and so these three matches will be a good chance to move forward in this form of the game.”
Finch, under this tenure, will have the opportunity to work with the triumvirate of acting head coach Justin Langer and assistant coaches Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie, who will assume those roles in the absence of Bupa Support Staff Head Coach Darren Lehmann and his assistants Graeme Hick, David Saker and Greg Blewett, who will be in India.
Speaking about their experiences, Finch added further “I’ve had the pleasure of working with all three of them in the past, they all know a lot about the game and they’re highly respected. They demand excellence from a group and it raises the bar. With guys playing and training in front of three greats of the game it makes them hungry to succeed and work at a higher level than they might have in the past.”
Sri Lanka will arrive in Australia off the back of a 2-1 T20I series victory against South Africa although it lost both T20Is against Australia at home in September.
Speaking about the challenges ahead in the T20 series, the Australian Skipper said, “Sri Lanka have played some very good cricket and they’re a very talented side. They’ve got guys who give it a whack, they’ve got guys who execute well with the ball and their spin speaks for itself.”
The second match of the series will be the first international to be staged in Geelong which is the home club for Finch and he is surely looking forward playing international cricket there.
Speaking about his connect with the place and the relevance of this match, he said, “It’s my local club, I’ve played there for the best part of 15 or 16 years now and it’s just an amazing place. The people of Geelong and the surrounding districts come out for any kind of top-level sport, they love it. It’s a huge boost for the community to see international cricket in the area and they will pack out the stadium, I’m sure.”
Sri Lanka will travel to Australia on a high a 2-1 T20I series victory against South Africa although it lost both T20Is against Australia at home in September.