After watching the improved batting performance by Aaron Finch in the first innings of ongoing Perth Test against India, the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that Finch showed the batting technique that can stand up in pressure.
Finch had the disappointing performances with the bat during the first Test of the ongoing Test series against India at Adelaide. After his 0 and 11 runs in the Adelaide Test, Finch faced a lot of criticism and some experts were suggesting dropping him for the Perth Test. However, the skipper Tim Paine and the whole team management backed him for the Perth Test and scored 50 runs as an opening batsman in the first innings of the ongoing Perth Test.
After Finch’s brilliant knock, Ponting told cricket.com.au, “What it showed today to everybody, and more importantly to himself, is that he has got a game that can stand up opening the batting at Test level. He’s been working hard on a few things over the last few weeks and I know Justin Langer did a lot of really good stuff with him in Adelaide on the night the (first Test) finished, a few balance things and few thing to take the weight out of his front leg and not fall so much across his stumps.
“He had a few moments today where he did that a little bit, but in general I thought he played really well. He looked to be aggressive, play the ball off the back foot, which is a really good sign for him. It means he’s not getting onto the front foot too early.”
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Ponting claimed Finch played in a good manner in the first innings of the Perth Test and was much focused to not make the same mistake like the Adelaide Test. Talking about Finch’s batting technique, Ponting finds some crucial similarity with himself and feels Finch has a very bright future in Test cricket if he works to get better.
The former Australian captain said, “From Adelaide, in both innings there where he was undone by big in-swinging deliveries, to be able to come out today and look pretty much at ease early on against the in-swinging ball goes to show that he can do it. The way that he plays, looking to get forward and across his stumps, is sort of the way I played. It was the little things that I had to work on right through my career, just to help out with my balance and ‘un-weighting’ my front leg if you like, to load up a bit of weight on my back foot and making one move into the ball rather than trying to make two or three movements.
“The most important thing with Aaron is that I’d rather see him being beaten on the outside of the bat, not the inside of the bat. If he thinks about staying leg-side of the ball and not over-committing to the line too early then I think he’s got a very bright future at Test level.”
Though Ponting is disappointed with the dismissal fashion of Finch in the first innings of the Perth Test, the former captain pleased on his batting technique under pressure.
Ponting added, “He’d be disappointed to get out the way he got out after being 50 and batting a long period of time then missing a full, straight one. That’s more of the reason why he’d be upset at getting out the way he did. He’d done the hard work against the new ball and where batting should have been at its easiest is where he got out. But, that’s the thing I’m most pleased of that he’s shown everyone a game and technique that can stand up in pressure.”
