Australia captain Finch confident of overcoming batting slump

(Reuters) – Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch said his batting form has not been up to the mark but the 35-year-old is determined to turn things around in their tour of Sri Lanka.

Finch was dismissed lbw for his second duck in as many innings in Australia’s one-day series-deciding defeat to Pakistan in Lahore on Saturday. 

The right-hand batsman has had eight single figure scores during his last 11 international innings with a top score of 35 and is under pressure to lead Australia in their defence of the Twenty20 World Cup title at home this year.

“It hasn’t been up to scratch,” Finch said of his recent form. “I’ve been well short of runs in the Sri Lankan series (at home) and this series here (in Pakistan, 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.”

Australia are due to play three Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and two tests when they visit Sri Lanka in June and July for the first time since 2016.