Finch advises Aussies and Proteas to prioritise power play, worry about dreaded dew later

• Skipper Aaron Finch believes Australia and their opponents in Saturday's ICC T20 World Cup blockbuster, the Proteas, should bask in the comfort of starting the tournament with virtually no night games.
• Dew is a big factor in the UAE at the moment and some matches have been lopsided against teams bowling second under lights.
• Finch though will worry about that later, but says prioritising the power play is a smart move in both day and night games.

Aaron Finch believes Australia and the Proteas, who begin their respective ICC T20 World Cup campaigns against each other in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, should both bask in the relative comfort of mostly playing day matches before worrying about the dreaded dew factor when the play-offs arrive.

Some of the games at the tournament, notably in the warm-ups, have been influenced by the UAE's cloud-less, colder nights as the condensation has made it a bit of a lottery to bowl second under lights.

And it's going to become an issue later on if the two teams progress.

READ HERE | Proteas history at the ICC T20 World Cup: Like it or not, they've never been heavyweights

But, for now, the archrivals can be safe in the knowledge that their high-stakes meeting at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium won't be unduly affected by who calls correctly at the toss.

"Four of our five games are day games," Finch said ahead of the match on Friday.

"I think the only night game we've got is our third game against England. Our first practice game was a night game, and there was quite a bit of dew in that against New Zealand. It came down quite heavily towards the back end of the innings. It will play a factor in the tournament, no doubt."

Incidentally, the Proteas' only night assignment to date will also be against the 50-over world champions.

"I think, as the conditions cool down slightly in the coming month or so, it will probably become heavier and heavier dew. Then the toss does become really important," said Finch.

The Aussie skipper though points out there's a common denominator that can assist teams greatly with dealing with the dew ... and it's one that's also going to prove vital in more "normal" day conditions: the power play.

"What we're seeing in T20 cricket is even when there is dew, the power-play is so important. Regardless of how dewy it does get, if you can control that part of the game, it just goes a huge, huge distance to winning the match. So at some point it will play a big part," said Finch, adding:

With Abu Dhabi's surface expected to be on the slow side on Saturday, both sides will be eager to take as much advantage of whatever pace there might be with the new ball.

"I think, like I said, even though it's different surfaces to what the IPL used, we saw the impact that it had. The teams that won the power play, that went a long way to winning the game as the wickets deteriorated," said Finch.

"I think the wickets first off here in the tournament will start off a little bit better and probably be a little more consistent throughout that 40 overs. As it gets a bit more traffic and the tournament gets a bit deeper, that might slow up and spin a little bit more."

The first ball will be bowled at 12:00.