Proud Finch Accepts Australia Were Outplayed By England

OutlookIndia

Australia captain Aaron Finch admitted his team were outclassed as England booked their final date with New Zealand at Lord’s. Finch paid credit to the fourth-wicket partnership of Steve Smith and Alex Carey for at least giving his bowlers a target to work with, as Australia managed to score 223 from 49 overs. But he admitted it was hard to be competitive when England openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow started their chase in a blaze of boundaries. Australia’s attentions will now turn to the forthcoming Ashes, with a match between their possibles and probables the next focus before the Test team is finalised, ahead of the series opener back here in Birmingham. And Finch admits Sunday’s final - which will see a new team engraved on the trophy - is difficult to call, while also looking ahead to 2023. (Video: ICC)  Follow this story and more: https://www.outlookindia.com/  #Sports #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup

Transcript

00:00 Aaron, were you surprised by the way England started in the field?

00:10 No, not at all. They've done it quite a bit in this tournament. They've got bowlers that

00:16 hit the seam and if there's anything in the wicket they'll certainly get out of it. Chris

00:22 Wokes, world class bowler, puts it in the right area time and time again. Archer, getting

00:27 better and better as he's starting to play a little bit more international cricket as

00:30 well. So it definitely wasn't a surprise.

00:32 Aaron, we've seen twice in two days, once the top order goes with a lot of teams, that

00:39 middle order just doesn't seem to be strong enough unless you're England. Has that been

00:43 a concern that maybe you've overlooked just because of the runs you and David were scoring

00:47 at the top?

00:48 I think for not our middle order today we would have been in real trouble. We still

00:54 managed to get 230 odd. I think the way that Steve and Alex formed that partnership and

01:01 managed to really drag us back into the game after a tough start was really important.

01:04 I think the way that they managed to soak up pressure and then slowly start to transfer

01:11 a bit more pressure back onto England before we sort of lost our way again. It was a bit

01:16 of a frantic start, three for in the power play, then a really good partnership and then

01:19 a couple of quick wickets again, which always sets you back a little bit. I think a lot

01:27 of teams have been in a similar boat. I think most of the time opening the batting has been

01:32 the easiest play, so not to be today for myself and Dave and Pete there at number four. It

01:41 was tough conditions at the start. England bowled very well. We just needed to find a

01:46 way through that period to really set a platform for the middle overs.

01:51 Where would you say the match was won and lost today? Was it because of the way you

01:57 started with the bat or was it because of how Jason and Johnny set the time for England

02:01 up top?

02:02 Oh, definitely in the first ten overs of the game. We know that they're going to come really

02:07 aggressive at us with the bat. We had to be aggressive with the ball. We had to create

02:13 ten chances and take them as well. It wasn't going to be a game, especially against England,

02:18 it wasn't going to be a game that Peters out into the 47th, 48th over. It was going to

02:22 be ultra aggressive and they got on top of us early with the bat. The damage was really

02:28 done with the ball. That sets you back. That forced us to rebuild for such a long time

02:33 and start to drag some momentum back. Then, like I said, you lose a couple of quick wickets

02:39 again, new batters starting. It's always tough against really good leg spin and good quicks

02:44 as well. I'd say at the start, but all in all, we were just totally outplayed, to be

02:49 honest, all throughout the day. You look back at that and you can analyse each ten overs,

02:55 but just outplayed.

02:57 Arun, how disappointed you are because Aussies have a very good record in the semi-final.

03:03 Seven times they qualified for the semi-final and reached the final. This time they were

03:08 quite disappointed. How disappointed you are?

03:11 Very disappointed. We came here today expecting to win. We felt like our preparation leading

03:17 into the tournament and then the momentum we'd built up throughout the tournament was

03:23 really important. We came here feeling good. We'd trained well. We'd had enough break in

03:27 between games and the guys were fresh enough. So, yes, very disappointing.

03:31 Arun, from what you've seen of England at this World Cup and obviously today, do you

03:36 think they'll go on and win it now?

03:38 It'll be a hell of a game. Two teams that, while New Zealand, we know that they fight

03:43 and scrap for every run, their dynamic in the field. They're a team that are never out

03:50 of the contest. England play a high-energy, high-risk game, probably, than New Zealand.

03:56 So I think it'll be a great game.

03:58 Aaron, Glenn Maxwell was identified by you guys as someone at the start of the tournament

04:04 that could, I guess, win your games. He probably hasn't done that. What are you made of his

04:08 tournament overall?

04:09 Yes, I thought he started off really well and got us into some really good positions

04:13 with even the game against India, where he started to build some real momentum. But again,

04:23 probably a few starts here and there and probably not like he has done in the past going on

04:27 and got that really match-winning contribution where he takes games away from opposition

04:35 so quick. But with the ball, I know he didn't get any wickets, but it was reasonably economical

04:40 when he bowled and did that in some really tough places. So yes, I know that he's disappointed.

04:47 International cricket is very hard.

04:49 Aaron, obviously there was a bit of talk during the week about whether Glenn would play today.

04:53 Can you tell us, was that close to not happening? How many different options did you guys run

04:59 through as far as your XI goes getting closer to the match?

05:02 Yes, you weigh up every possible XI, whatever you think is the strongest XI to win the game,

05:09 matching up to England. Also, what's in your best interest in terms of your strengths and

05:16 stuff like that. So you put dozens of teams up, dozens of combinations, and that happens

05:23 every game. You throw enough stuff in the air. But we were really confident to back

05:29 Maxi in for the game. Like I said yesterday, he's such a dynamic player and brings three

05:41 skill sets to the table that are really hard to ignore at times as a player. We've seen

05:47 how damaging and how much of a match-winner he can be in the past. We saw in the last

05:51 World Cup the impact that he had in big games. So it just wasn't to be today. And it's not

05:57 just that, it was our senior guys, myself, Davey, we didn't get going. Starkey didn't

06:03 get going. Paddy Cummins, guys that you expect to stand up in big games, we were just outplayed.

06:10 Aaron, over here. Jason Roy's been tipped for a possible top order place in the Ashes

06:16 series as coming up as an Australian. Would you be glad not to see him play in that series

06:22 given how he performed today? He definitely goes hard. Having played with him for a few

06:26 years now for Surrey, he's a player that when he's on he can be so damaging to an opposition

06:34 in such quick time as well. So not sure what the wicket's going to be like in the Ashes

06:40 series. I think the first test here, is that right? So it'll be interesting to see how

06:46 that plays out. But he's got some really good hundreds in county cricket, probably more

06:53 so in the middle order. That's just one of those things that if he gets going on his

06:56 day he can be brutal. And he scores so quick in all forms of the game that it's a very

07:02 dangerous threat, no doubt. Just considering where you were 12 months ago as a team and

07:08 getting to a semi-final, is that a reflection of a success or a failure? And how much was

07:12 Uzi Kawaja missed today? Oh, Uzman was missed a lot, no doubt. He's a world-class player.

07:18 He started to get some really good runs and real good momentum into this back half of

07:23 the tournament. So that was really stiff when he did his hamstring there. In terms of where

07:28 we were 12 months ago, obviously I think that we've made a huge amount of progress. Really

07:33 proud of everyone involved for how much hard work and how far we have come. But at the

07:39 same time, we came here today to win a semi-final and get ourselves in a position to win another

07:45 World Cup. So that was really disappointing how it ended, especially to put up probably

07:50 one of our worst performances overall for the tournament. So that was really disappointing.

07:56 But really proud of where we have come from and the gains that a lot of players have made

08:03 over the last 12 months in particular.

08:04 Hi Eric, can I just ask about Alex Carey? How is he? What actually happened and how

08:10 much of a bottle did it take for him to carry on?

08:12 Yeah, he's tough. He's very tough. I think the ball got pushed back through the grill.

08:22 He had seven or eight stitches in his jaw there and he was a bit sore on the other side.

08:28 But apparently he looks all clear for any clinical tests for fracture or anything like

08:35 that. So he's very tough. It'll take a bit more than that to get him out of a game.

08:43 He did a fantastic job today as well. He was a part of a really good partnership with Steve

08:46 there to get us to a half competitive total.

08:50 Aaron, what did you make of the atmosphere here today? Did it have any sort of detrimental

08:56 effects on you guys and is it something that maybe Australia have got to be a bit more

09:00 mindful of in the rest of the summer?

09:02 No, I think you always expect that when you turn up here. The hollies out there are always

09:07 loud. It's a great place to play cricket. I know it sounds a bit stupid after we've

09:12 just lost and we don't have a great record here, but it is a great place to play. The

09:17 atmosphere, they appreciate good cricket as well as obviously supporting England heavily,

09:21 but they do appreciate good cricket. So it's great, great fun playing here. No doubt throughout

09:29 the Ashes series it's going to be loud as well wherever you go.

09:32 Last couple, Sam.

09:36 Aaron, we saw England four years ago after they got knocked out of the World Cup sort

09:40 of strip everything back and spend four years building. Do you think that's now the template?

09:45 Would that be a strategy that you guys look at to say, right, I'll clean slate and it'll

09:50 all be about 2023?

09:51 I think that after a World Cup you always start looking and you have one eye towards

09:58 the next one. I think that as a management, senior players, I'm sure that over the next

10:05 - I'm not sure when our next one day is to be fair - over the next couple of months or

10:11 so we'll sit down and start talking about that and start planning how we think that

10:19 we can best plan and prepare and improve over the next four years to get us to go two steps

10:27 further.

10:28 Yeah, I think that every team will do that. You start looking at what you can improve,

10:33 most areas that you can identify that you need some work to be done. That'll happen,

10:41 no doubt. That happens naturally with players when you're talking about the game and trying

10:45 to find ways to improve. But as a coaching staff, as a management, that'll be really

10:49 important as well that everyone gets on the same page and everyone pulls in the same direction,

10:54 which is what we've done. We've been really lucky. Everyone's bought into the way that

10:58 we've played and it's unfortunate we've just come up short.

11:00 I know it's a different format and there'll be different personnel, but given the heavy

11:05 defeat today and the first testers here at Edgbaston, do England have a psychological

11:09 edge now, going into that match?

11:11 No, I don't think so. I think with different players, there'll be a high turnover of players,

11:16 I'd imagine. In terms of the squad, I think there's going to be 16 picked for the Ashes,

11:20 so there'll be maybe not a high, half players maybe turned over. So I don't think that guys

11:26 carry too much baggage when you go in between formats. I think if we roll it up and play

11:30 to one day tomorrow, there might be a few scars there, but in terms of the test, I don't

11:35 think so.

11:36 Thanks, everybody.

11:37 Cheers, guys.

11:37 Cheers.

11:39 Cheers.

11:39 (upbeat music)

11:42 you

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