Australia vs South Africa: Aaron Finch survives an injury scare ahead of the ODI series

Aaron Finch, the explosive Aussie opener, who is known to play destructive knocks in domestic as well as International cricket, is set to play his first match in Green & Gold as a full-time captain. But his plans were in doubt for a while after he was hit on the right-hand by Mitchell Starc. He also left the venue after some time which raised doubts over his participation only to get eventually cleared of any serious injury.

The current Australian team has been in tatters off late as two of their premier batsmen, Steven Smith and David Warner, are serving their penalty of one full year away from International cricket, while Cameron Bancroft, the newcomer who looked promising right from his debut in November last year, is serving his 9-month ban, for trying to tamper the condition of the ball in a Test match in South Africa earlier this year.

Tim Paine was handed over the full-time captaincy of the Australian team after the debacle but he failed to bring the desired results. As a result, he has been stripped off his ODI captaincy for Australia’s upcoming ODI home series against South Africa. The series gets underway this Sunday in Perth.

Finch certain to play

Aaron Finch has taken over as the full-time captain of Australia’s ODI team. The dynamic opener, who has a decent bit of experience, will be assisted by two vice-captains, Josh Hazlewood and Alex Carey. Alex Carey will also keep wickets for Australia.

Aussies’ preparations for Sunday’s ODI series opener were briefly halted as their new captain, Aaron Finch, injured himself at training. Finch, as reported by cricket.com.au, was forced to leave the ground after being struck by a fast Mitchell Starc delivery on the right glove, during Australia’s centre-wicket practice session at the WACA in Perth on Friday.

Immediately after being hit, Finch dropped his bat and took off his gloves to inspect his hand, and soon after was seen leaving the field. He was later spotted leaving the venue with his hand in a cup of ice. However, the scans revealed that no serious damage had been done and Finch will be fit to take the field and lead his side on Sunday.

~Written by Nahmat Maeraj