Aaron Finch, Australia's burly opener, ticked every virtual box of top-order batsmanship during his fighting 72 in a tri-series league game this past month, but was unable to break the shackles quickly enough to ease the pressure on his struggling partners, allowing South Africa's pacers to dismantle Australia's top order in defence of a modest total.
"We knew that we had to try and take on the new ball a little bit and I probably didn't do that straight up. So pressure builds on other players," Finch said. "That was unfortunate, it took me a while to get going. It is my responsibility and it is disappointing to not set the tone," he admitted, aware of the intricate stipulations of his role, like only a specialist can.
Cricket history is replete with stories of great teams led by outstanding opening batsmen - Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden and the aforementioned Sri Lankan pair. The usually accompanied cliche for openers is the perennial need for platform setting. The other commonly used reference deals with a good start being as good as the job half done.
Finch knows all about good starts, having famously scored a tone-defining 135 in his opening match of the 2015 World Cup, against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, setting up Australia's charge for a fifth World title.
However, by his own admission, opening happened by chance for the strongly-built batsman. He was always renowned for aggressive batting in the Victorian circles but a host of Australia internationals in the side relegated him to a position in lower middle order.
"I started batting at No. 6 during the 2009/10 T20 Bash. Then someone went and played for Australia... I can't remember exactly who it was and I filled in to open the batting and did well. I've done it ever since," the Victorian told Cricbuzz, as we sat down for a chat.
That player was Matthew Wade. His absence for the clash against Tasmania allowed Finch to script a belligerent 147-run opening stand with Brad Hodge, turning him into an overnight prospect for a future berth in the Australian limited-overs sides. The country had been grappling for a steady opening pair ever since Gilchrist hung his boots. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin opened with moderate success in the interim but following Australia's exit in the 2011 World Cup, widespread changes had been on the cards. David Warner had been knocking on the doors for an extended run at the top but Australia still needed someone to complement him or perhaps, someone to push him further.
Finch's performances for Victoria and the Melbourne Renegades in the annual T20 Bash were awarded. He was an Australia player, albeit only in the T20s. And then, at the Rose Bowl in 2013, Finch shattered the record for the highest individual T20I score with a bludgeoning 156. Soon enough, he found himself becoming an ODI regular, along with Warner.
"I think I've always been quite an aggressive player and I think it is something that came quite naturally to me," Finch said, reminiscing his overnight change in fortunes. "Obviously, in T20 and ODI cricket, when you open the batting, the field's up and you're looking to get the team off to a quick start so I think that's a challenge you want to do well in when you take on that role."
Batting, especially at the top of the order in the limited-overs formats, involves a lot of give and take, something Warner and Finch perfected in the build up to Australia's title-winning run in 2015. Yet, contrary to popular notion, there were no specific pre-game preparations that the duo relied on. As Finch put it, "It just happens."
"The understanding happened naturally," he said of his batting bonhomie with Warner. "One day, I might have felt better and hit a couple of boundaries to start. The other day, he might have. Then it's just about having a good relationship of being able to get off strike and get the guy who is batting well at that time, on strike. It's nothing that is planned about. We don't talk about it too much. Different people match up to different players to different styles as well. And that plays a big part."
At the very least, do opening partners have to get on well off the field? Possibly share a meal on the eve of the game for good vibes? "Not at all," Finch said. "I think when you're out there playing cricket, your number one job is to win the game... perform as well as you can for the team. So I think that's what that's all about. Whether you are great friends with somebody who you open with or you mightn't have much in common off the field, I don't think that makes much difference. I've been lucky to bat with Davy Warner in T20 and One Day cricket and we get along fantastically off the field, so that helps... but again I don't think it's necessary."
The Warner parallel reveals another aspect of Finch's career. Unlike his left-handed batting partner, Finch hasn't been able to crack the red ball code with his aggressive ways. A start-stop Sheffield Shield career with Victoria and a nearly three-year gap between his second and third first class centuries, from 2011 to 2014, augmented his classification as a shorter-format specialist. Warner's success lends credence to Finch's argument that there is scope for success in the longer formats with a domineering approach to batting. An unbeaten 288 in a tour match against New Zealand at the turn of the year bore testament to the theory. But Finch is not beating himself up for failing to get a break in Tests, even if the second opener's slot is still up for grabs following Chris Rogers's retirement.
"Davy Warner is one of the best two-or-three batters in the world. His record is outstanding, he gets runs in big games when a Test match is on the line. He gets big hundreds and wins games," Finch observed. "I think that's one way he probably has single-handedly helped other T20 players understand that if he can do it... they can too. Obviously, he is an unbelievable player... but if he can do it, there is no doubt that players can come through the T20 and ODI ranks to do well in Tests. We saw George Bailey do it as well in Australia during the Ashes (in 2013-14).
"The way Test cricket is played these days, so aggressive. We see teams scoring 350-400 in a day. It makes the game attractive to watch. Makes the public come out and take note because it's exciting from ball one. I turned up to watch the boxing day Test in 2015 and Australia were none for 40 after four overs... that didn't happen too often in the past.
"That is something I would love to do but I'm not going to put so much pressure on myself because, when you do that, you forget to have fun in the game. You look too far ahead and forget to have the fun and forget about the enjoyment you had when you were six years old growing up playing cricket, for the love of it. Joe (Burns) has done fantastically well. He came in under quite a bit of pressure because Rogers obviously was very consistent. So they are obviously big shoes to fill. He played beautifully against New Zealand in their own conditions. He's got that position in his own hands at the moment. He's played unbelievably well. So for me, personally, I just have to keep making runs, wherever I can - in England, Australia or at the IPL... whatever the competition," he added.
Finch, however, is being true to his end of the deal. The recently-concluded season of the Indian Premier League gave a glimpse into another side of Finch's batting - his play against spin in the middle overs. The Victorian started as an opener but had to find a place in the middle-order midway through the tournament to accommodate Dwayne Smith in the side. That left him having to face spinners right at the start of his innings. Five half centuries, a strike rate of 131 and an average shade under 40 indicated his ability to adapt seamlessly.
As his Gujarat Lions teammate Brendon McCullum observed, the season was a revelation for the Victorian in terms of helping him discover another side to his game. The former New Zealand captain, another batsman who thrived with a mad cap approach to batting at the top, was lavish in his praise of Finch's ability to attack the spinners in the middle overs, something he believed would help Finch sustain momentum during the middle phase of an innings even when he moved back up the order.
"That's the great thing about IPL," Finch said, when his play against spin and McCullum's comments were brought up. "You get to train with the best all the time... play with them and talk cricket with them. Even if you are not playing, after a game you go the bar and have a beer with the opposition. There are lessons. In (Royal Challengers) Bangalore, we have two of the all-time greats Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers... so just sit down and have a chat with them about cricket. It's amazing. That's what the IPL has done for players like myself.
"We get to talk about and play spin more. And there are some outstanding spinners. Young guys coming through... even the old guys like Pravin Tambe are very good. It was just about playing more in the nets. Talking to players about tactics... about how can I score against certain type of bowlers. (Ravindra) Jadeja and these guys helping me out with my game... It is just great."
Yet, despite all the run-making in the abridged versions of the game, the year so far, has been rather topsy-turvy for Finch. In a little over four weeks in February, he had gone from being the top-ranked T20I player and captain of Australia in the format to being stripped of captaincy and then struggling to find a place in the playing eleven. He conceded his disappointment as the conversation meanders to the inevitable but acknowledged Australia's attempts to consolidate leadership across formats with Steve Smith.
Most importantly, Finch finds it in him to look beyond the ordeal and seek to control the controllables.
"It was very disappointing first off. I was looking forward to going to World T20 and captain Australia in a world tournament, but you cannot dwell on it for too long," he says. "I would have loved to have done it. But Steve is obviously the captain of the other formats, so I can understand why it happened that way. The way he's played over two and a half years has been extraordinary. So I don't think anyone would begrudge that decision at all.
"Yes, it was disappointing. But you still have a job to do as a player and if you let anything else get in the way of that, the game is hard enough as it is without having other things going on your mind.
"I think I've played well for Australia in T20Is... and ODIs as well. Now, it's just about getting an opportunity to possibly play Tests. If it comes along, putting enough runs on the board is very important. It's something I haven't yet done. But I'm only 29. I think I have a lot of cricket to play. Hopefully, another 10 years would be nice," he ended with a chuckle.
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