by from_the_stands » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:36 am
As a Victorian, and specifically having been raised in the south-est of the state, I'm a big Aaron Finch fan. When Geelong joined the ranks of the VCA (the club comp that produces players for Victoria) and I stumped up the 100 bucks to be a foundation member, the then club president announced that one of the goals of the club was to produce a Test player by 2000. At that time, which was the Mark Yaylor era, it was hoped that that player would be Clinton Peake, who had scored a triple century in an under 19 Test against India, gone on to play a handful of matches for Victoria, and basically did very little since then. Fast forward to the present day and we now have Finchy at the forefront of limited overs cricket.
At 27 years of age, Finchy has established himself as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, boasting a tidy IPL contract to go with that, and is one half of the most explosive ODI opening partnerships the game has ever seen. In a nutshell, this guy can win matches off his own bat, and can do it in such a manner as to completely destroy the confidence of just about any bowler out there. During a BBL match a couple of years ago, Finchy made the great SK Warne look like a backyard cricketer, with his brutal demolition of the great man, putting an end to the talk of Warney making a Test comeback. As for Finchy's chances of getting a baggygreen himself, honesty, I don't know... it could happen.
Why it could happen? Finchy is one of the most prominent batsmen in the world right now. He's playing County cricket in England right now so his fc average will improve. Also, Victoria will be looking to regroup after a disasterous season (which saw Finchy get dropped). Rebuilding the batting around Cameron White, Glenn Maxwell, and Finchy might be a starting point for the Bushies. A couple of good seasons and our man from Colac could well be in the reckoning. It could come to pass that Finchy might fill the number 6 slot, as George Bailey did last summer, and that he is used as a pinch hitter - although in this case, it would be a Finch hitter! Imagine the sight of Finch and Warner unloading against a hapless English attack? How good would that be!?
Why it might not happen? His fc record is poor and at present, I feel that there are too many other options ahead of him. Chris Lynn and Joe Burns from Queensland both look to be better prospects in the Test arena. And Glenn Maxwell I think, is going to be huge. On top of that, a space in the Oz top 6 needs to become available. I couldn't see Finchy opening in a Test, with Phil Hughes, Nic Maddinson and Jordan Silk all contenders there (although seeing Australia being 200 runs for no wicket at lunch on the first day is an attractive thought). And Twatto would have to ride quietly off into the sunset (like that's going to happen anytime soon). And with talk of Brad Haddin moving up to 6 to accommodate James Faulkner, under those circumstances, Finchy would have no chance.
So my answer to the question is that Finchy is a definite maybe in terms of getting a chance of playing Test cricket.
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