ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 5, 2021

Aaron Finch

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Australia

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Somebody will probably correct me if I'm wrong, but I think about 211 sixes have been hit so far in the tournament proper; did Mitch Marsh as far as you're concerned belt the most important one last night?

AARON FINCH: That was nice. It was a good way to finish the game. I think we put in a really good performance from the outset last night. I think our bowlers set the tone, obviously.

Yeah, but to get over the line and help with our net run rate was really important.

Q. All the machinations sort of came into play before the game. Now that you're about to prepare to play the West Indies, is it a keep-it-simple-stupid type attitude? Do you just say to the boys, let's just win this one?

AARON FINCH: Well, that's what our focus has been the whole time, to be honest. Behind the scenes we made a conscious effort not to talk about net run rate and things like that. You've obviously got to put yourself in a position to win the game before you can worry about anything else. Last night was just one of those cases where we were able to chat about it at the halfway mark because we had done such a great job in the first half there.

Yeah, we've just got to play our best game again, three games to go, hopefully, to win a tournament.

Q. Does it feel like a turning point?

AARON FINCH: It was a really good performance. I think the way that we started the game on the back of a really poor performance against England was outstanding. Everyone seems in really good spirits. Everyone is playing nicely. It was just that one game against England that was sort of the blip there.

We're going to have to bring our best against the West Indies tomorrow, obviously, as well.

Q. How important is it that you do get that win against the West Indies and don't leave it up to England? How important is it to keep it in your control?

AARON FINCH: Yeah, you'd love to keep it in our control. That's all you can focus on. I think as soon as you start helping other teams win or other teams lose, it just clouds your judgment and your vision. That's really important that we just go and stick to our guns, stick to our process because we know that that's good enough when we get it right. So that's important.

West Indies is such a dangerous side. We saw that when we played them. Obviously with them being out of the competition now they've got nothing to lose, which can also be a really dangerous spot.

Q. Can you just talk us through the attitude or the mindset going into that game? It just seemed like you seemed to be a more aggressive team from the start, that you just seemed to be really up and into them. Was that real or imagined on my part?

AARON FINCH: No, it was real. We made a conscious effort we wanted to bring a little bit more energy, especially in the field. It's a lot easier when you get wickets early on, and the way that Mitch Starc started in that first over backed up by Josh Hazlewood in the second, to have them two down so early and then Maxwell to come out and jump on the back of that, everyone was just up and about.

I think what was really pleasing, once we had a sniff in that game that we didn't give them an opportunity to get back into it.

Yeah, it wasn't imagined by any stretch. It was really well done by our boys.

Q. In the Caribbean a couple of months ago Hayden Walsh Jr. had some pretty good success against you. He's not been a regular for their team in this tournament, but if he comes back tomorrow, do you think you're better prepared for what he might pose as a challenge for you?

AARON FINCH: Yeah, we expect him to come back into the side. He had a sensational series against us over there. I do think we're better equipped to deal with that at the moment. Obviously having played him before in a five-game series there's been a lot more information sharing amongst the boys and chat about that.

It just comes down to being able to perform your best game on the day. That sounds pretty basic, but that's what it comes down to, and as long as we can keep our intent, keep our energy, I think that goes a long way to us giving ourselves the best chance of winning.

Q. Just on your form, do you feel something has clicked again in your batting? You seem to have come quite nicely out to the middle in the last few matches. I know it was tough against England, but certainly last night you managed to nail a few. Do you feel something has clicked in your batting?

AARON FINCH: Yeah, it was nice to get a few in the middle. I think the first couple of balls I was trying to swing a bit too hard and wasn't watching the ball as close as I should have been.

But yeah, I feel as though my footwork patterns have been pretty good. It's something I've been working at. Obviously when you're coming off an injury or you're coming back off any kind of layoff, it can take a little bit of time to get back up to speed, but I feel like I'm playing reasonably well, yeah.

Q. Mitch Starc said yesterday on the broadcast that he might have taken a couple of days between the games to work on his run-up and that he might have struggled a little bit with that. Can you give an insight into what you might have seen him doing?

AARON FINCH: Yeah, it was something over the last couple of weeks I think that he's been working on, and he started getting a really good rhythm the other day at training, and he said he felt as though it was a lot smoother, and I know facing him in the nets it felt quick and he was swinging the ball, which is a great sign for Mitch when that's happening. Him as a package is unbelievable, when you add in how good he is in the field and with the bat, as well.

Yeah, I'm not sure of the actual specifics, but I do know that he's been working on it with Andrew McDonald quite a bit, and yeah, that seemed to go really nicely yesterday. He said in the lead-up two days before the game that it felt really nice and he started to feel that rhythm again that he knows that he's bowling well.

Q. Generally with him, the Windies did get hold of him in the first couple of games during that series earlier this year, and then he obviously had that really great final over against Andre Russell. Is he the kind of guy that if a similar moment happened in this next game or in the semifinals, is he kind of the man you're turning to in a hard pressure situation?

AARON FINCH: Oh, absolutely. His record in all formats of the game is unbelievable but particularly T20 cricket. He's somebody who's got so many skills, the ability to take wickets all through the innings, with the new ball. At the death in particular he's as good as anyone in the world.

Absolutely he's a strike weapon that we love to use. Any stage that we feel as though we can exploit someone or there's a little weakness or you just want to keep pressing through the middle overs, he's the one you turn to most times, yeah.

Q. How much do you guys look at Adam Zampa as a match winner, especially in a T20 kind of a format? Usually people talk about Australia and think of fastbowlers, but here we've seen Zampa getting crucial wickets for you. How much of a weapon is he for you in your planning?

AARON FINCH: Oh, he's a huge weapon. He's someone who's been so consistent over the last couple of years in both white ball formats of the game. He's someone who we rely on a lot in especially One Day cricket to really control overs through the middle and a really attacking option.

It's the same in T20 cricket. He often bowls maybe sometimes one in the powerplay but then he'll bowl straight after the powerplay. He puts so much pressure on opposition. His skills are brilliant. He keeps improving.

I think what's been the most important thing is he gets very, very good players out consistently. I think if you look at the guys in the opposition that he gets out a lot, a lot of the time it's their best player, which is so important.

Q. Do you feel given the performance last night and the fact that run so well and that you left South Africa in second place with a terrific run rate, is it starting to feel tantalizingly close to being able to play off for the trophy that Australia has never won?

AARON FINCH: No, mate. Honestly we're just focused on tomorrow. The boys will have a decent sleep-in this morning and some guys will train, some guys will have a day off today, but later this afternoon we'll move our attention as a strategy group to all our stuff with the West Indies. Never put the cart before the horse; you know that.

Q. Cricket Australia postponed the Afghanistan Test. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on that.

AARON FINCH: Oh, it would have been a great Test match, but I think to still have that in the schedule at some point down the track is really important for world cricket. We've seen particularly in the shortest formats of the game how important and how big an impact that the Afghan team has had on world cricket. Yeah, hopefully that can get back up and running as soon as possible. Yeah.