I don't think it's realistic to play Test cricket again: Aaron Finch

Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch thinks that it is unrealistic for him to think of playing Test cricket again. The flamboyant opener played five Tests across the last few months of 2018. He was given an opportunity to open in Tests on the basis of his solid performance in white-ball cricket but the red cherry didn’t suit him well. The victorian batsman hasn’t worn the baggy green since the one-year ban of his opening partner David Warner was lifted.

The right-hander started his Test career against the Pakistan team in UAE in a satisfactory fashion. He was looking settled with the scores of 62, 49, 39, 31. But he was rocked by an extraordinary Indian pace assault during the Aussie summer. Finch struggled throughout the first three Tests against the Indians and averaged 16.67 during those matches before he was dropped from the side for the last game.

Less than a year ago, the 33-year-old had said that he wants to have “one real good crack” at getting back into the team before hanging his boots. But then the COVID-19 hit the cricket world and everything changed. He has played just five first-class games since his last Test and the opportunities are getting narrow.

“In terms of red-ball cricket, I don’t think it’s realistic to play Test cricket again,” Finch was quoted saying cricket.com.au. “Just based on two things: the amount of opportunity to play four-day cricket and force a claim, I think, is going to be really limited; and also the young batters coming through, there are some seriously good players in Australia, especially top-order batters.”

“The talent depth is really, really strong at the moment so I don’t think that’s an opportunity, to be honest,” he said from Australia’s bio-secure base in Derby on Wednesday.

You get full value for your shots: Aaron Finch on his excellent record in England

Finch has been a very successful batsman for Australia in limited-overs cricket and has led the side quite convincingly since 2018. The batsman has always performed well in England and he shared the reason for it, “It’s always a place I’ve loved batting, right from when I first came over as a club player up in York. You play at venues a lot more and you just get more familiar with the place … having big squares here as a batter is always nice because you hit the ball through the field and you get full value for your shots.”

He is just 28 runs away from becoming the only fourth Australian to score 1000 runs in ODIs in the Ashes rival’s territory. The Aussie side is in England to play the limited-overs series. The Australian captain will be travelling to UAE right after the series to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. The cricketer was bought in the auction for INR 4.4 crores.