‘I'd bat No.11 if I had to’ – Aaron Finch can’t wait for Test debut

Finch is 31, and a short-format star for Australia and at Twenty20 leagues around the world. He doesn’t have a Baggy Green yet, though, but could finally earn one in the United Arab Emirates when Australia take on Pakistan next month.

It’s the absence of openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, both suspended along with Steve Smith, that has opened the door for Finch, and he is tipped to open the batting with Matt Renshaw once the Tests start.

“I'd bat No.11 if I had to,” he joked when speaking to reporters in Brisbane on Monday, 17 September.

Finch accepts that if the call-up – Trevor Hohns, the Chief Selector, called him when he was driving home from training the other day – hadn’t come this time, it was unlikely to have come in the future.

“It was probably the time when if it didn't happen now, it was probably less likely to happen down the track,” he said. “It would mean a lot. You grow up in the backyard dreaming of playing Test cricket and getting a Baggy Green. It's closer now than it ever has been before.”

Perhaps because it has taken this long, Finch is cautious about talking up his chances – Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Travis Head, all in Australia’s squad of 15, have opening experience, after all.

If he gets in, though, he won't change his style of batting. “Being aggressive has made me reasonably successful in international cricket in the two shorter formats," said Finch. "Depends on the order they see me fitting in if there's a spot in the XI.

“If it's at the top, it's about playing your natural game. If it's in the middle, there will be times when you come in against a lot of spin and the ball is reversing. Pakistan are a side that tend to bowl a lot more spin with the new ball, particularly in the second innings.

“It's just about sticking to your natural game, playing to your strengths. When that happens, you give yourself a higher chance of success. Playing for 10 or 12 years you build up a game plan you think works for you pretty well. It's not about going away from that because it's Test cricket or you're playing in the subcontinent – it's about just changing your mindset slightly."

That Finch hasn’t played long-format cricket for Australia is, to an extent, down to his mediocre first-class record: 4338 runs from 76 games at an average of 36.15. The average, though, has been in the mid-40s of late, and that has helped his cause.

“While this is my first Test tour as well, I've been around for quite a while and probably know the demands of international cricket – not necessarily Test cricket,” he said, adding that as one of the older members of the side, he can chip in with the planning too. “A sounding board for some younger guys if they need a chat – wherever Tim (Paine, the captain) and JL (Justin Langer, the coach) think I can help out.”

The first Test against Pakistan will be played in Dubai from 7 October, and the second from 16 October in Abu Dhabi.