Aaron Finch fronts up to flaw as teams tinker ahead of their T20 World Cup opener

The pre-match net sessions for the heated rivals proved to be fascinating viewing, with New Zealand bringing in former Australian international and SCG local Steve O’Keefe to consult with the bowling corps in the build-up to Saturday’s encounter.

Australian skipper Finch meanwhile owned up on his Achilles heel of left-arm quicks swinging the new ball, before facing up to bowling coach Daniel Vettori’s left-arm throw downs at length in the nets to mimic Trent Boult’s angles.

“I think at times I’ve been a bit more negative to left-arm bowlers,” Finch said.

“You’re almost batting trying not to get out as opposed to trying to be proactive."

The New Zealand seamer has dismissed the Australian opener six times at international level, though in T20I cricket Finch has negotiated the threat to this point, dismissed just once and scoring 46 off 34 deliveries.

Perhaps looking at the 15 dot balls in his match-up to Boult in T20Is, and with doubts growing about his technique over the last few months, Finch pledged to be more proactive.

“He (Boult) had my number no doubt (in international cricket). I still feel as though I’ve got a really solid game plan. There’s some technical things I can do to a left-armer that can help,” Finch said.

New Zealand haven’t beaten Australia in over a decade, though with both the Kiwi talent and rain clouds looming in Sydney, Finch admitted the side are far from finalising a playing XI.

“If there is rain around and the game is shortened, that can dictate what you do with your team.

"But we’re really confident that all the stuff we’ve done in the lead-up to this, that there’s enough bases we can cover with our squad.”

New Zealand reached out to O’Keefe through New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams, and skipper Kane Williamson was grateful for the extra knowledge.

“We have a number of spinners in our group that were keen to have a bit of a chat, and he knows these conditions as well as anybody.”

“It was a nice opportunity for them to have a few conversations with a very experienced spinner in this format.”

Saturday’s Super 12 match between Australia and New Zealand is officially a sell-out.