England setting the benchmark in ODIs: Finch

Chester-le-Street (London) [UK], June 22 (ANI): Australian top-order batsman Aaron Finch believes England are "setting the benchmark" in ODI cricket for the world after they slumped to a fourth straight ODI defeat at the hands of Englishmen in the ongoing five-match series.

The Tim Paine-led side's nightmare continued in the fourth ODI as they slumped to a six-wicket defeat despite Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh's centurion knock. Australian bowlers were no match for English batsmen, who chased down the target in 44th over.

In-form batsman Jason Roy was the most notable contributor for England as he notched up a brisk knock of 101 off 83 balls.

"The tone England are setting in one-day cricket is the benchmark in the world. They're playing like the No.1 side in the world for a reason. They're full of confidence and have a lot of depth in their batting," ESPNcricinfo quoted Finch as saying.

" They have the confidence to know that their Nos. 6, 7, 8 or 9 can get the job done even if things don't go well at the top of the order. They have a pretty good blueprint," he added.

Finch, who equalled former Australian captain Ricky Pointing's record of scoring most number of centuries against one opposition, smashed his sixth ODI hundred against England in the match.

But the right-hand batsman admitted that he could have contributed more for the team after building a strong partnership with Marsh.

"I probably left a heap of runs out there. I had a good partnership with Shaun Marsh but for me to get out just past 100 was disappointing," Finch said.

"It would have been nice to cash in and get 140 or 150 and put the pressure on them to take risks in the middle overs. We could have really kicked on and put foot the foot down in that last 12-13 overs. I take full responsibility for us not getting 330-340," he added.

Finch further suggested that the Australian team needed to focus on their strengths and try to stay in the game as long as possible.

"We have to stick to our strengths and find a way to stick in contests for longer. Once we find the formula I think it'll turn for us pretty quickly. These lessons will be valuable going forward," Finch said.

Not much is left for the Australian side in the series, but they will definitely look to focus on some positives when they head into the fifth and final ODI against England at the Old Trafford on June 24. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI