Aaron Finch expressed concern about Australia's faltering middle order
- Posted on January 31, 2024
- Sports
- By Arijit Dutta
- 220 Views
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch has voiced apprehensions about Australia's faltering middle-order batting, emphasizing the dearth of substantial scores despite inherent talent. He pinpointed the absence of centuries and expressed worry over a few discernible cracks in the batting lineup. Finch's remarks follow Australia's unexpected defeat to a relatively inexperienced West Indies team. He underscored the contributions of Usman Khawaja and the bowlers, urging attention to rectify the middle-order struggle.
Former
Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch has expressed his apprehension
regarding the recent struggles faced by Australia's middle-order batting
lineup. Despite possessing a pool of talented players, the middle order has
been consistently failing to convert promising starts into substantial scores,
raising concerns within the cricketing community.
In an interview on ESPN's "Around The Wicket" show, Finch highlighted the lack of centuries from the middle-order batsmen, pointing out that the numbers do not reflect the talent present in the team. He specifically mentioned the bowlers, including Usman Khawaja and Mitch Marsh, for their contributions but stressed the need for the middle order to step up.
"The
hundreds column is a concern for me. Guys are getting starts, and that's
reflected in the numbers, it's not like they're averaging six," remarked
Finch, underlining the importance of converting starts into significant
contributions.
Finch's comments come in the wake of Australia's unexpected defeat in the second Test against a relatively inexperienced West Indies side at The Gabba. He identified some noticeable cracks in the Australian batting order, which were, according to him, covered up by the exceptional performances of Usman Khawaja and the bowlers over an extended period.
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While
acknowledging that individual players might have occasional bad series, Finch
stressed that the lack of substantial scores, especially centuries, is a matter
of concern. The middle order faced a significant collapse on day four of the
second Test, failing to chase down 216 runs.
Despite
Steven Smith's valiant effort, being left stranded at 91*, and Cameron Green's
contribution with 42 off 73 balls, the rest of the middle-order batters
struggled to display the required resilience. West Indies bowler Shamar Joseph
played a pivotal role in their victory, claiming 7/68 in the second innings.
As
Finch raises the alarm over Australia's middle-order crisis, the cricketing
world awaits to see how the team addresses these challenges and works towards
restoring their batting prowess, especially with an eye on future competitions.