"I doubt it" – Aaron Finch on his Ashes prospects
Finch has long established himself as one of the world's most threatening white-ball openers, but wasn't quite able to leave the same mark during his brief stint in Australia's Test team.
He made his debut in late 2018 on Australia's tour of UAE against Pakistan, and while he showed some promise, Finch failed to string together too many big scores. He was dropped from the side after the third Test against India at home in Australia's 2-1 series defeat.
"So far in this tournament, he has been the best captain tactically" – @MichaelVaughan heaped praise on Australia skipper @AaronFinch5.https://t.co/fH9B8tT5oO
— ICC (@ICC) June 13, 2019
Since then, openers like Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Joe Burns have all scored well in red-ball cricket, and with David Warner back into the international fold, Finch feels his chances of making the cut are slim.
"I'm not sure what they are planning with the squad or anything like that. Obviously, I'd love to play if the opportunity comes up. I think I'm way down the list, having missed my opportunity throughout the summer.
Not one to sulk over his misfortune, Finch instead heaped praise on young Australian batsmen like Kurtis Patterson, Travis Head and Will Pucovski. He advised them to stay collected if they too missed the Ashes boat as he expects them to get chances in the future.
"But the guys who've come in, the young guys came and played really well. Kurtis Patterson played beautifully. Heady [Travis Head] has done a great job. We saw him evolve over the summer and change his game or change his mental attitude, I think, really quickly to Test cricket, which was a real positive from such a young guy. Will Pucovski, he's an absolute superstar in the making.
"The young guys have come in and done such a good job, and they have got such bright futures, all of them. Whether they all get picked or whether one or two misses out, I don't think that will be the end of the world for them.
"Yes, there will be some short-term disappointment, but they are going to have long careers, all of them, I can tell you. There's some seriously good players in Australia, especially them young guys who have had a little taste.