Southampton: Australia have put behind a disappointing year, which saw them losing back-to-back series besides facing a ball-tampering scandal, and skipper Aaron Finch is relieved to see the team in great position at the moment as compared to 10 months ago. The defending champions have won both their warm-up games and couldn’t have thought of better preparations for the upcoming World Cup. The Aussies defeated England and Sri Lanka.
“It is a great position to be in when compared to where we were 10 months ago; it is great when guys keep jumping up to fill positions,” Finch said after Monday’s warm-up match here against Sri Lanka, which Australia won by five wickets.
The Australian team was in complete turmoil a year ago after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, involving Steve Smith and David Warner. The two batsmen were handed a year-long ban from international cricket.
Australia also lost the ODI series against England and South Africa, and a home Test series against India for the first time ever. This year, however, the Aussies managed to get their act together as they registered a come-from-behind 3-2 ODI series win against India, and then blanked Pakistan 5-0.
“We have been as a group since May 1, and we are still doing our basics really well,” said Finch. “We just want to continue doing that and keep the flow going,” said the Oz captain. “We know the competition is going to be tough, but then you can’t expect the World Cup to be easy.”
AFP
