Pakistan Claims One-Day Series as Finch Fails again
By Malcolm Conn
Pakistan players pose with the trophy after beating Australia in the third one-dayer - AP
World Cups appear a long way off for Aaron Finch after a heavy loss against Pakistan cost Australia the one-day series 2-1.
Finch made his second successive duck as Pakistan bowled Australia out for 210, losing by nine wickets with more than 12 overs to spare in Lahore on Sunday morning Australian time.
Pakistan has beaten Australia after a mammoth run chase in the second ODI.
It was Pakistan’s first one-day series victory against Australia in 20 years.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored a second successive century (105 not out) to be player of the match and series, while opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq (89 not out) was the leading run scorer in the series with 298 at an average of 149, including two hundreds.
Australia’s heavily depleted one-day team had a remarkable 88-run victory in the opening match of the series but lost the last two games. The tour ends with a Twenty20 match, also in Lahore, on Wednesday morning.
Following a string of low scores, Finch is under increasing pressure to lead Australia for its defense of the Twenty20 World Cup title at home during October and November, with the 50-over World Cup in India late next year looking increasingly distance.
Two ducks in three days, both lbw against Pakistan’s quality pace attack, have given Finch eight single figure scores during his last 11 international innings with a top score of 35.
“It hasn’t been up to scratch,” Finch, 35, said of his recent performances. “I’ve been well short of runs in the Sri Lankan series and this series here, there’s no doubting that.
“It’s frustrating and as you get older you probably question yourself a little bit more, but I still feel all my training has been really positive. It’s just been the first couple of balls getting my pad in the way, which has been a thing throughout my career.
“But I’m still very confident I can turn it around in the next series against Sri Lanka.”
He has been hindered by a knee injury suffered during a tour of the West Indies midway through last year but claimed it wasn’t an excuse on this tour.
“During the T20 World Cup and last summer it was an issue,” Finch said. “But only playing the two white ball games for Victoria gave me the chance to get a good chunk of rehab in, so it felt great on this tour.”
Finch will have three Twenty20s and five one-day matches in Sri Lanka during June to regain some form and reinforce his place in charge of Australia’s white ball teams.
He has been such a fine leader in the short forms of the game, taking Australia to their first T20 World Cup title in the UAE last November, that it would be fitting if he could lead a home defense later this year, but his performances must justify a place in the side.
With the absence of David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh, Travis Head and Ben McDermott grabbed their opportunities at the top of the order.
McDermott was selected as a reserve batsman in the white ball squad but received his chance when injuries and Covid depleted the squad. He finished Australia’s leading run scorer with 195 at an average of 65 including his maiden one-day century.
Head, playing his first one-day series in four years, scored 190 runs at 63 with a dazzling strike rate of 133 opening the batting, but scores of 101 and 89 were followed by a dismissal from the first ball of the match.
Like Finch in the game before, Head missed a swinging full toss from the dangerous Shaheen Afridi. Unlike Finch, it missed bat and pad and crashed into the base of his off stump.
Finch was dismissed in the next over falling across his crease to be trapped in front again, this time by Haris Rauf.
The only other time Australia have been 2-0 in a one-day match was 20 years ago at Docklands in Melbourne, also against Pakistan, when Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting perished for ducks.
It became 3-6 in the sixth over when Marnus Labuschagne (4) was caught at slip wafting at a ball outside his off stump.
Alex Carey continue his good tour with the bat, top-scoring with an enterprising 56, and Sean Abbott’s batting continues to blossom with 49 from just 40 balls that dragged Australia past 200 before he was last man out.
Australia’s early fielding was as shoddy as its batting, with Pakistan cruising to victory. – The Age
