Australian captain Aaron Finch has confirmed Glenn Maxwell will bat higher up the order in the five-match ODI series against India, starting in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Maxwell registered scores of 56 and 113 not out in the two T20 Internationals against India, guiding the Aussies to a memorable series victory.
After the second T20I in on Wednesday, Maxwell had said he would like to get a promotion in the batting order in the ODIs.
“In one day cricket, it’s not as easy to go at the end. So it would be nice to bat higher up but it depends on what happens in the top four or top five. If the opportunity does come up, I’d like to take,” he said.
Maxwell’s wish didn’t fall on deaf ears as Finch, during a press conference on Friday, stated that the hard-hitting batsman would come up the order in the ODIs.
“Glenn will get an opportunity to bat higher up the order than No 7 that he batted against India in the previous series (in Australia),” Finch was quoted as saying by PTI. “He has been in great form. His ODI cricket has been great as well. I am not sure where he will bat but higher than No 7, I would imagine.”
The Australian limited-overs captain has himself been out of form for a while now. In the recently-concluded T20I series against India, the 32-year-old got scores of zero and eight.
Finch, though, remains confident he will find his groove soon enough. The right-hander has always been susceptible to the incoming delivery, and has tweaked his technique to get better results in the ODIs against India.
“The changes that I’ve made are really close to happening,” Finch was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “It could be one ball, could be two balls and you get in the middle and everything snaps back in and you start to feel good and get the flow back again.
“I’m really confident going into this series. It might sound strange after missing out for quite a while, but I feel really comfortable where my game is at, where it’s going and at times you’re prepared to wear a little bit of short term pain for long term game.”
Finch was also asked by one of the reporters if the impending return of David Warner and Steve Smith to the team, after their bans end on March 29, meant his captaincy was under pressure. Asked if he was just a stop-gap skipper, Finch responded, “No, no... I am the captain.”
The first match starts at 1.30 pm IST on Saturday.
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