“They continue to be one of the benchmarks in world cricket”: Aaron Finch hails world-class New Zealand side ahead of Chappell-Hadlee Trophy

Australian captain Aaron Finch has hailed the New Zealand side ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy starting 6 September 2022.

Australia will take on New Zealand in the 3-match ODI series starting tomorrow at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns. The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy is taking place for the first time since 2016-17. Both sides were set to face each other in 2022, but the series got cancelled midway due to the Covid pandemic.

There are some world-class players in both sides, and this series can be an entertaining one to watch out for. Australia lost their last match against Zimbabwe, and they would want to bounce back. New Zealand have also played some great cricket recently, and they will be filled with confidence ahead of the series.

Aaron Finch applauds New Zealand side ahead of Chappell-Hadlee Trophy

Australian captain talked highly about New Zealand ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. He called New Zealand to be the team who have set the benchmark in all formats of the game. New Zealand are currently ranked number one in the ODI rankings, and they have performed well in recent times as well.

“They’re a fantastic unit, they have been for a long time,” Finch told reporters in Cairns on Monday.

“They continue to be one of the benchmarks in world cricket in all three formats of the game and the fact that they’re No.1 in ODI cricket at the moment is testament to that.”

Aaron Finch expects the series against NZ to go the distance…and wasn’t quite sure who holds the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy! #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/NuKDXXEU6b

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 5, 2022

Finch highlighted the fact that New Zealand have world-class players in both the batting and bowling department. Neesham has been in brilliant form lately, and he bats at the 6-7 position for the Kiwis. The bowling unit of the side also looks solid for the ODI series.

“They’re always close battles regardless of what format,” Finch added.

“They’ve got world-class players throughout their innings, with (Martin) Guptill and (Kane) Williamson … there’s firepower all throughout with Jimmy Neesham at six or seven.”

“And their bowling; (Trent) Boult, (Tim) Southee, (Mitch) Santner, they’re world-class.”