Will Support Whoever Becomes Captain in Aaron Finch’s Absence: Mitchell Starc
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Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has said that if regular skipper Aaron Finch is unavailable for the three-match ODI series in Barbados starting July 21, the team will support the stand-in skipper.
Finch aggravated his right-knee problem while fielding in the final T20I against West Indies on July 16. Now with him in doubt for the ODI leg of the series, questions are being asked as to who will be the captain in Finch’s absence.
The options for captaincy include Alex Carey, who served as the vice-captain in Australia’s last ODI series against India in 2020, and Matthew Wade, who captained Australia in the Sydney T20I against India in December 2020.
The other options include Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques and Mitchell Marsh.
“It makes for an interesting question. We’ve got Alex there, Josh Hazlewood was vice captain for a period of time there, Matthew Wade has captained before, Moises has captained plenty of games in the past, so you’ve got plenty of guys with leadership experience.
“Wade said it the other day, it makes it easier captaining in international cricket when guys know their roles. If Finch was to miss, I’m sure whoever takes on the role will do a good job and we’ll get behind them,” Starc was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au
Starc said that the senior pros in the side are guiding the lesser experienced bowlers in the team. Pacers Wes Agar, Riley Meredith and leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson are yet to play an ODI.
“It naturally comes about chatting around training and off the field. It’s the nature of these hubs — you can’t really leave the hotel so you spend a bit more time together as a group. Whether it be chatting after play or chatting through days around the hotel.
“We’ve got guys who have got a little bit of experience in international cricket now. For Josh, Zamps and I are potentially playing a bit more white-ball cricket than the rest.You keep yourself accessible to them and check how they’re going around training. Those ongoing discussions happen quite naturally anyway around a cricket tour,” said Starc.
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