Melbourne: Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch says they do not want to leave any stone unturned this time around in terms of their preparations for the next ICC 50-over World Cup 2023 scheduled to take place in India two and the half years from now.
Australia were beaten by eventual champions England in the semi-final of the World Cup tournament last year and do not want to repeat same mistake during the World Cup 2023 in India.
Since the tournament last year, Australia have played seven one-day internationals, losing three of them. They were in the middle of an ODI series against New Zealand in March when the COVID-19 pandemic brought all cricket to a standstill.
“I’m a cricket nuffy so you are always thinking about it, especially being captain and with what’s coming up with the T20 World Cup, whenever that might be, and there’s a couple of them and looking forward to the 2023 50-over World Cup in India,” Finch told SEN Radio. “In the 50-over space, it’s about working back from that 2023 World Cup and really getting a detailed plan of how we think we’ll have to win it, what’s the structure of the side we’ll need in India. Is it going to be two spinners, is it going to be an extra allrounder and kind of work back from there.”
The 33-year-old is keen to feature in the next edition and wants to start grooming young players to integrate them into Australia’s next World Cup squad.
“[We need to] nut out what resources we’ll need in terms of players. If there’s someone new we identify who could perhaps have a big impact, how many games can we get into them over the next two and a half years to make sure they have enough experience so in a high-pressure semi-final you aren’t going in hoping they’ll do well, you know they have the form and enough experience behind them to make sure they are comfortable with the international level.
“It’s either working out what the 15, or say 25 players now, what that looks like, does it match our game plan going forward, or do we pick the side the other way round with a game plan in mind and adapt it that way. It’s not rocket science, it’s going through data, a bit of gut instinct of what you feel will be the trends of one-day cricket. Will it be 400, or will it be that 320-mark with some wearing pitches in India and a couple of spinners in your side?”Finch has played for a variety of teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was first selected by Rajasthan Royals in 2010 before going on to play the next two seasons for Delhi Daredevils.
2013 saw him play for Pune Warriors India, 2014 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and 2015 for Mumbai Indians, although his opportunities for the side were limited due to injury. In 2016 he was bought by Gujarat Lions,playing for the side for two seasons, before being bought by Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL Auction. He was released by KXIP at the end of the season and opted out of 2019 IPL season in order to prepare for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
He was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2020 season. (UNI)
