Even Aaron Finch was surprised with how long he was willing to bat in the outdoor nets in Cairns, on challenging wickets, the day before the opening one-day international with world No. 1 New Zealand on Tuesday. Two days after a surprise and inglorious defeat to cricketing minnows Zimbabwe in Townsville, Finch and the Aussies packed up their spring caravan and headed further north to be greeted by the not-so-flat practice wickets most batters were keen to avoid. But while his teammates did their preparation indoors, Finch dug in for the extra-long outdoor session, with the walls closing in after a horror run that has netted a top score of just 15 in his past five ODI innings. That score was the only one in double figures, with two consecutive ducks in Sri Lanka in June the beginning of a patch so ugly his position is being questioned daily. Ask anyone associated with the team – teammates, the coach or selectors – and they back Finch to the hilt, pointing to a career that has netted 5346 ODI runs, with 17 centuries. Only three Australians have made more hundreds, and two of those have only made 18. Even Finch’s ODI deputy, Alex Carey, put to bed any suggestion Finch wouldn’t be the skipper “for at least the next 12 months”, with the 2023 World Cup in India seen as his end date. “Aaron Finch will be there in 2023 and smacking runs for Australia. Finchy’s numbers speak for themselves,” Carey told WA radio on Monday. “He’s been through patches like this and he’s come out the other end smacking them. I see Aaron Finch leading this team for another year at least. ” That Finch couldn’t get any runs against Zimbabwe should ring alarm bells given the arrival of the Kiwis, the top-rated team in ODI cricket, with left-arm swing machine Trent Boult also the format’s No. 1 bowler. But Finch, who hasn’t shirked the issue of his form when asked about it repeatedly – as he has been given the extra media responsibilities of the skipper – wasn’t short of self-belief when asked in Cairns on Monday. “You are always looking to improve and being able to train consistently and keep tinkering with my game to get better is the most important thing,” he said about the path back to runs. “The performances personally haven’t been there in terms of output of runs, but I still feel like I am a pretty good player. ” That path back to runs included the net session on spicy outdoor pitches he hoped could tune him up, having spent just 55 balls at the crease in his past five games. “They were a challenge in the nets, and it’s always nice to be able to practise in those conditions,” Finch said. “It makes you feel as though you have to be really precise with your moments and where you are hitting the ball. It was a good, long hit, probably longer than I would normally have the day before a game, but not having as much time in the middle lends itself to longer training. ” Finch was pleased the Cairns wicket looked “flat and even” and games were starting in the afternoon, being day-night matches, after morning starts in Townsville. “Yeah, 9. 40am was a very early start,” he said. Just another change that might be exactly what the under-fire skipper needs to find some much-needed runs. .