SOUTHAMPTON AFP: Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch says he will miss the “banter” of English crowds during the upcoming white-ball campaign but is adamant the absence of spectators will not mean a lack of intensity.
Finch’s men have already arrived in England for three Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals against their arch-rivals from September 4-16.
“It’s always good to have a crowd to entertain and the banter that comes from particularly English crowds is pretty special,” Finch told reporters in a conference call on Wednesday.
“Do they go over the top sometimes? Maybe, yeah. It’s all a great thing to be a part of, especially if you beat England over here.”
England have just played six behind-closed-doors Tests against the West Indies and Pakistan, winning both series, with the white-ball squad defeating Ireland 2-1 in a three-match one-day international campaign this month that also took place without spectators.
“I have seen all of it from back at home (on television),” said Finch. “It is obviously a little bit different with no crowds, but at the end of the day as cricketers we probably play 95 percent of our games in front of not many people so I think that we would be used to it.”
Finch, speaking from Australia’s base in Derby, central England, said: “We played the game against New Zealand at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground), which was our last game, behind closed doors so I don’t think that we need any extra motivation or we don’t need any crowd to pump you up -- not that we get it here in the UK anyway.”
“At the end of the day we are still playing international cricket,” the 33-year-old batsman added. “What it’ll come down to is pride in your performance and representing your country really proudly.
“It will be different but I don’t think it will take away from the intensity of the games whatsoever.”