Surrey CCC’s Aaron Finch provides advice on best way to bat in Twenty20 cricket
BY MARCUS HOOK
Aaron Finch says the key to batting in Twenty20 cricket is to watch the ball rather than commit to a shot before the bowler has even let go – and he should know.
Only five players in the world currently have a better batting average in T20 Internationals than the 32-year-old Australian, who will hand the baton as Surrey’s overseas batsman back to Dean Elgar at the end of next week
That is unless the Oval outfit have pulled off the unbelievable and somehow stolen themselves a place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.
Surrey need to win big in their three remaining matches as well as hoping other results go for them to qualify for the next round.
Finch, who holds the record for the highest individual score in a T20I – a score of 172 against Zimbabwe just over a year ago – not to mention the third best (156 versus England in 2013), said: “I use very little pre-meditation.
“You play your best when you react to the ball and that’s generally my message to young players.
“As soon as you’re pre-meditating, T20 bowlers are so skilful now that they can change. Yes, getting towards the end of the innings you might want to play the lap or the reverse lap, but, apart from that, you’ve generally got your areas.
“You can think that a guy might bowl full. But as soon as the ball isn’t where you want it then you’re in no man’s land. At times you can over-think it and start searching. But if you don’t pre-meditate that’s when you can play shots all around the ground. AB de Villiers is a classic example. Not matter where you bowl to him, he’s got an option for it.
“I’ve played 260 T20 games now, so I’ve seen almost every scenario and that gives you the confidence just to wait it out – plus you can’t score runs in the shed.”
But even Finch admits he’s fallible.
He said:“I’ve got my weight all wrong and been caught at deep point a few times, slicing the ball, and something I’ve always struggled against is left-arm swing.
“But there might be an outswing bowler from the other end I can target.
“I don’t mind the ball going away from me, where I can use my hands.”