Hello Friends,
Last decade has seen rise of so many cricketing heroes across the globe, some of whom are still enjoying their success journey. At the same time there have been quite a few who have done their job of making their country proud consistently without being talked about much. Today we are going to talk about one such silent warrior in our segment Unsung Heroes who started his career as a destructive batter in the limited overs format and turned out to be a shrewd leader bringing World cup glory to his country. Any guesses?? Let's find out.
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Aaron James Finch, limited overs captain of Australian men's cricket team has been a prolific performer over the years apart from his leadership credentials. In spite of playing as a middle order batter during the early stage of his career, he established himself as a hard hitting top order batter. His heroics with the bat didn't take much time to draw the attention of national selectors as well as some of the T20 franchises across the globe. In no time he became an indispensable part of the Australia's limited overs squad. He came to the spotlight again in 2013 when he hit a brilliant 156 in a T20I against arch rivals England which remained the highest score in T20I for a while before he only broke that record with a blistering 172 against Zimbabwe. At the same time he continued to keep scoring heavily in the ODI format too despite being interrupted by frequent injuries. He was part of the World cup winning team in 2015. Being part of as many as eight IPL franchises shows his worth in the shortest format of the game. 17 centuries and 5000+ runs in less than 150 ODI games definitely puts him in the list of all time limited overs greats.
But does his heroics with the bat is the only reason he being considered as one of the Australian greats? Certainly not. Over the years he has turned out to be one of the calm and composed leaders who has survived some of the most difficult phases with this team. He got the captaincy of the limited overs side at a very crucial time when the entire Australian cricket was going through an extremely tough phase leading to suspension of their star cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner. With just about a year left to prepare for the 50 overs World cup in England he along with newly appointed head coach Justin Langer took the responsibility of regaining their lost position both on and off the field. It was definitely not easy to find the suitable replacements of Smith and Warner's calibre. At the same time to ensure that the team is able to come out of the trauma created by that entire phase was a different challenge altogether.
But it was the time when we saw the best of the leader Finch. He started rebuilding the confidence among the players which slowly started showing in their performance too. Back to back series wins against India and Pakistan in sub continent conditions gave lot of confidence to this team. He was always in the forefront of the proceedings, be it leading with the bat or getting the best out of his team. Australia was not considered among the favorites to win the world cup in 2019 due to their form leading to the marquee event adding to the absence of two key players. But it was an extraordinary comeback by Aaron Finch led team who were finding their feet again after the comeback of Smith and Warner. It could have been a fairy-tale chapter in Australian cricket history under Finch's leadership had they won the world cup. But unfortunately their journey ended in the semi finals. But this doesn't reduce the influence of Finch's leadership on this team as they continued to perform consistently in the limited overs format.
Finch has also been one of the change agents during their shift in playing culture. Post the incident in South Africa which brought humiliation to the entire nation, there has been a substantial change in the way Australians used to play their cricket. They are still one of the most competitive teams on field but there has been a shift in their behaviour. Finch along with then test captain Tim Paine and head coach Justin Langer has been the flag bearer of this change. It's never easy to lead a cultural shift specially in a country like Australia who have been playing their cricket in a certain way over the years. But Finch again proved to be successful in bringing that change.
He has always been an individual who knows his limitations well as a player and as a leader. That's why when he was dropped from the test side just after five matches he was brave enough to accept the fact that he needs to work on his technique to be at this level. Despite formidable success as a player and a captain dream of lifting that elusive world title as a captain was still not fulfilled for him. Winning a world T20 title was an unfulfilled dream for the entire country despite forming strongest T20 sides over the years. Finally the dream became reality when they won the World T20 title last year under Finch's leadership. It couldn't have been better than that to win a world title under the leadership of a captain who was brave enough to hold together the team during difficult phases. Australia was instrumental during the entire tournament in terms of their planning and execution. Despite getting the hammering in the hands of England they were strong enough to deliver that knock out punch to lift the title.
Probably the contribution of Finch just can't be measured in terms of runs he scored or matches he won. It has a long lasting effect in terms of building a team which has gone through difficult times in recent past. Getting a bunch of players together and making them world champions is not a cake walk. Only an able leader can do that. Recently he has announced his retirement from 50 overs cricket at a time when he was expected to lead this team in next year's world cup. Consistent lack of form and struggle with injuries would have prompted him to take this decision. Again he proved to be a selfless leader who did not hold back to his position and decided to pass on the baton to the next generation. But he definitely has one more chance to lift yet another world T20 title in home conditions next month when the Aussies will be out to defend their title. Probably biding goodbye to cricket with another world title win can be the fitting climax to the Victorian's amazing career.
Read more in this segment👇
James Anderson-An Unsung Hero Of Modern Day Cricket
Journey From An Aspiring Cricketer To A Charismatic Leader
Self Belief Leading To Excellence At Global Stage
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