Australia focused on powerplay, not dew: Finch

ABU DHABI: Australia captain Aaron Finch has played down the effects of evening dew in day/night games at the Twenty20 World Cup, insisting that control of the powerplay was fundamental to success in the abbreviated form of cricket.

After a disjointed build-up to the tournament which runs until November 14, the Australians kick off their campaign against South Africa in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Finch said he expected the wicket to “play pretty good, a touch on the slow side”, adding that dew “will play a factor in the tournament, no doubt”.

“Four of our five games are day games. The only night game we’ve got is our third game against England.

“As the conditions cool down slightly in the coming month or so, it will probably become heavier and heavier dew so then the toss does become really important.”

Finch said that the powerplay, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle for the first six overs of an innings was “so important”.

“Regardless of how dewy it does get, if you can control that part of the game, it just goes a huge, huge distance to winning the match.”

Without disclosing the team, Finch said Australia, who have never won the T20 World Cup, had plumped for “seven specialist batters, four specialist bowlers plus the all rounders” against South Africa.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in the depth of our squad, we’ve got a lot of confidence in (Glenn) Maxwell, (Marcus) Stoinis and (Mitchell) Marsh to bowl four overs as well.