T20 WC: Australia face must-win matches against B'desh and Windies, says Finch
Oct 31, 2021
Dubai [UAE], October 31 : After suffering a defeat against England in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Australia skipper Aaron Finch admitted that his side now has to win its remaining two matches against Bangladesh and West Indies.
Jos Buttler played an unbeaten knock of 71 and his side beat Australia by eight wickets on Saturday at the Dubai International Stadium. The innings was highlighted by 23 runs scored over long-on, including three towering sixes through that region that all travelled more than 90 metres.
"All credit to England in that powerplay, the way that they squeezed us, kept taking wickets. Obviously when you go in with specialist batters that probably is going to leave you a little bit short at times. It's not an ideal scenario when you go in with that structured team," said Finch in an official ICC release.
"The reason Agar was in there was we felt it was a really good matchup for England. His ability to bowl in the powerplay and through the middle overs in the past against England has been really good. We just thought that that was the way to go tonight. It was not a reflection on how Mitch has been going at all. It was purely just a matchup thing for this game. It was unfortunate we didn't get the job done," he added.
Finch's side face Bangladesh and West Indies next as they bid to emerge through to the semi-finals from Group 1.
"They're definitely must-wins. I think the net run rate took a hammering tonight. We're going to have to be at our best again," said Finch.
"Bangladesh is a very, very good side and so are the West Indies, a lot of firepower in their team, a lot of experience. It's a must-win from now on, but we're looking forward to it," he added.
