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ICC World Cup 2019 | Have Been Nowhere Near Our Best: Finch

PTI |June 15, 2019, 3:01 AM IST
ICC World Cup 2019 | Have Been Nowhere Near Our Best: Finch

Australia are comfortably placed on the points table with wins in three out their four World Cup games but captain Aaron Finch feels his team has played nowhere near to its potential.

At the top of the order Finch, David Warner and Steve Smith, have hit the ground running with big scores aplenty.

But the middle order has yet to fire, with Marcus Stoinis' side strain likely to keep him out of the Sri Lanka clash at The Oval on Saturday not helping matters.

In the bowling department, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc remain two of the world's best but the spots for their backups are up for grabs.

But with so much cricket still to come, Finch is confident that their best cricket is just around the corner.

"I don't think we have gone anything near our best which is still a good thing. We have six points on the board but are not playing anywhere near our best cricket which is a real positive," said Finch on Friday.

"But as long as we are improving and continue to go up and not backwards, I think that is the key."

Australia's only loss has come against India.

"You are coming up against different opposition all the time. You don't get into a rhythm, there are different challenges every time. India were spin heavy through the middle, West Indies were all about pace through the middle."

On the bowling side of things, Glenn Maxwell has become a key cog with his off-spin while Finch himself even turned his arm over at Taunton and claimed the key wicket of Mohammad Hafeez with a rank full toss.

Finch added: "Have I been working on my bowling? Not much! I'm just trying to land them! My bowling is not great to be honest, it is pretty ordinary but I just got a bit lucky.

"When you play four specialist bowlers and rely on your fifth, what I would call a good part-timer is Maxy, he has shown last World Cup he was our spinner, he has shown he can do it. But it is tough without guys, especially all-rounders who balance out your side really well."

Other than Stoinis' side strain with Mitchell Marsh now in camp as a back-up should the all-rounder fail to recover Australia are at full fitness.

But Finch is not going to be underestimating Sri Lanka adding "You look down their side and there is a lot of experience there and world-class players."

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Cricket World Cup Points Table

Pos Team P W L T/NR PTS NRR
1
AUS
5 4 1 0 8 +0.81
2
NZ
4 3 0 1 7 +2.16
3
IND
4 3 0 1 7 +1.02
4
ENG
4 3 1 0 6 +1.55
5
SL
5 1 2 2 4 -1.77
6
WI
4 1 2 1 3 +0.66
7
SA
5 1 3 1 3 -0.20
8
BAN
4 1 2 1 3 -0.71
9
PAK
5 1 3 1 3 -1.93
10
AFG
4 0 4 0 0 -1.63

Team Rankings

Rank Team Points Rating
1 India 3631 113
2 New Zealand 2547 111
3 South Africa 2917 108
4 England 3663 105
5 Australia 2640 98
see more
Rank Team Points Rating
1 England 5720 124
2 India 5990 122
3 New Zealand 4121 114
4 South Africa 4647 111
5 Australia 4805 109
see more
Rank Team Points Rating
1 Pakistan 7365 283
2 England 4253 266
3 South Africa 4196 262
4 Australia 5471 261
5 India 7273 260
see more