Record-breaking Finch in a league of his own

Ask Aaron Finch's teammates what his best leadership quality is, and the most common response is ‘calmness’.

But it hasn't always been the case - when he first took over the white-ball role full-time in 2018 he was sometimes described as a bit grumpy. But it's a quality they said evaporated quickly as he relaxed into the role.

Described by coaches as "one of the best gut-feel captains in the world", Finch has evolved into a leader Australia's T20 side can't do without.

He'll forever be remembered as the kid from Colac who led Australia to it first T20 World Cup crown, and despite recent struggles will go down as one of Australia's most reliable performers.

Image Id: 236C7049A0364755990B62F5E3185A64 Image Caption: Finch holds the 2021 T20 World Cup trophy aloft // Getty

Aside from Mike Hussey, no Australian men's batter averages more than Finch's 34.23 in the shortest format.

But while consistency has led to his longevity, it's his tactical nous that has provided the nation's T20 team with its most valuable asset.

That's why when he takes the field tonight at Manuka Oval in Canberra to become the first Australian men's player to play 100 T20 internationals, his most endearing quality to his teammates is not how many runs he has scored but rather the confidence he instils in others.

"Finchy backs me in," leg-spinner Adam Zampa told cricket.com.au ahead of the Australian summer.

"He's calm under pressure and lets you do your thing. It's the same for the group as well, we know what we need to do in our roles and Finchy has been a massive, massive part of that.

"His strength is just understanding people."

Long-time opening partner David Warner admits Finch does "gamble" quite a bit but he's almost always right, and good mate Glenn Maxwell adds that he's great at being able to overcome different adversities during the game.

"The way that he's galvanised the whole group and got us all playing together, there's a real sense of calmness around the white-ball set up at the moment," Maxwell says.

"The team is playing some good cricket, there's no stresses off and on the field.

"We function really well, we just get on with the job and are able to go out there and play cricket and have fun."

Zampa believes one of Finch's best attributes is being able to absorb both pressure and scrutiny and not let it impact the rest of the team.

"He's been in the media a lot lately; there's been a lot of talk about his spot in the team, his leadership and all that, but he's actually stayed so consistent and medium the whole time," says Zampa.

"If it has fazed him in the background, he hasn't brought that to training or games or around the team environment."

Finch revealed to cricket.com.au he doesn't even read the press because he knows himself when he's made a mistake and that's the only feedback he needs.

Despite spontaneity and gambling being attributes associated with his captaincy, the 35-year-old says they're decisions he has played over and over in his mind.

"It's not just something random that comes to your head that you've never thought of," he explains.

"I'll then go back and speak to the coach and we'll run through how we got to the decision, why we got to it, had we planned that at the start and should we have?

"It can be pretty easy to see how you got to a decision.

"So luckily, I don't think there's been too many times, there's maybe one I can think of off the top of my head where I took a risk and it went wrong.

"But there's also a few times when you do it and it goes OK and you don't tell anyone."

Debuting against England in Adelaide in January 2011, it didn't take the Victorian long to find his feet at international level, smashing 53 not out off 33 balls from No.6 in his second match in front of home fans at the MCG.

But it was his knock five games later that his teammates remember most fondly. After being promoted to opener he smashed a then world record T20 score of 156 off 63 balls against England at Southampton in 2013, an innings that that Warner told cricket.com.au last month was the cleanest hitting he'd seen.

Image Id: CDF15BF45C2F4A198FD2DCA8C680825D Image Caption: Finch celebrates his century in Southampton as Stuart Broad applauds // Getty

"It's easy to talk about playing a certain style (but) it's one thing to go out there and actually do it," Test counterpart Pat Cummins says.

"One of his biggest strengths is you can talk about being aggressive and proactive and brave.

"When he walks out there to open the batting, he leads us off by actions."

Finch would go on to break his own record almost five years later with 172 off 76 against Zimbabwe in Harare, underlining his standing as the nation's leading T20 international batter.

To date, he is the only batter to pass 3000 runs for Australia.

Despite all his accolades, perhaps his finest moment is yet to come as his side go in search of back-to-back T20 World Cup titles on home soil.

"To win the World Cup final in Dubai was pretty special, we had an amazing bunch of players and guys," Finch says.

"To do it (again) in front of your home fans … everyone's pumped for it."

Men's Dettol T20I Series v England

Australia squad (first T20I): Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchel Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Australia squad (second and third T20Is): Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

First T20: England won by eight runs

Second T20: England won by eight runs

Third T20, Friday Oct 14: Manuka Oval, Canberra 7:10pm AEDT

Buy #AUSvENG T20 tickets here