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\nMELBOURNE
\nAustralia captain Aaron Finch has backed under-fire paceman Mitchell Starc to rebound after the left-armer was feasted upon by India\u2019s batsmen in the first two matches of the one-day series. Australia sealed the series 2-0 with their 51-run victory in Sydney on Sunday but Starc\u2019s struggles have raised concerns leading into the four-test series starting on Dec. 17 in Adelaide.
\nStarc finished with figures of 0-82 from nine overs at the Sydney Cricket Ground, two days after recording 1-65 in the opener at the same ground where he conceded 20 runs in his first over. Finch said there would be discussions about how to deploy Starc ahead of Wednesday\u2019s dead rubber in Canberra but he was unfazed by the 30-year-old\u2019s form.
\n\u201cI think he\u2019s going OK,\u201d the limited overs skipper told reporters on Tuesday.
\n\u201cHe hasn\u2019t been at his very best and you have to understand that his standards are a lot higher than what you expect from most other people because of how dominant he\u2019s been the last eight, nine years — especially in the white-ball formats.
\n\u201cThere will be some conversations had today about what we can do slightly different, whether it\u2019s a tactical thing, when we\u2019re using him through the innings. \u201cBut there\u2019s definitely no panic stations from my point of view.\u201d
\nFinch said losing opening partner David Warner to a groin injury was a blow for Australia, and a replacement had yet to be determined.
\nMatthew Wade, unused so far, could be brought in, he said, but selectors might opt to promote wicketkeeper Alex Carey or Marnus Labuschagne, who batted at four in the second ODI, depending on the pitch.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s an all-time great in one-day, T20 cricket,\u201d Finch said of Warner. \u201cAny team that he\u2019s not a part of is going to be slightly weaker.
\n\u201cBut we\u2019ve got guys that can step up and really contribute in that role as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online MELBOURNE Australia captain Aaron Finch has backed under-fire paceman Mitchell Starc to rebound after the left-armer was feasted upon by India\u2019s batsmen in the first two matches of the one-day series. Australia sealed the series 2-0 with their 51-run victory in Sydney on Sunday but Starc\u2019s struggles have raised concerns leading into the four-test […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n