No pressure being captain, says Finch

It's fair to say 2014 has been quite a year for Aaron Finch. It started with a pair of ODI centuries against England in January, including one on his home ground. Then in July, he starred with an unbeaten 181 in the Lord's bicentenary celebration match, batting with legends like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. And now, in October, he is about to captain his country for the first time.

Finch was installed as the new T20 leader after George Bailey's surprise decision to step down last month, and he was the logical choice. At 27, he has a long international future ahead of him. As the No.2-ranked T20 international batsman in the world, he is in no danger of losing his place. And he has plenty of leadership experience through Melbourne Renegades and Pune Warriors.

There also seems little reason to worry about his personal performances dropping off under the burden of captaincy; in 25 T20 matches as captain, he has averaged 43.00, compared to an average of 33.62 when not captain. But still, there will be a few nerves when Finch steps out onto the field in Dubai to juggle his bowlers and set his fields.

"My job, when I open the batting, is to get us off to a good start," Finch told reporters in Dubai ahead of Sunday's T20 against Pakistan. "That's not going to change just because I'm captain. I think when I've captained in the past for various teams - Melbourne Renegades, Pune Warriors, Australia A - I think I've performed reasonably well with the bat.

"I don't think it adds any pressure to my personal game. I think when we get out into the field and it's time to make decisions about bowling and fielding positions, I think that's when I'll start to get a little bit more nervous."

What he will want then is wickets, and plenty of them. Australia will have at least two debutants in their bowling ranks after Finch confirmed that legspinner Cameron Boyce and seamer Sean Abbott would play, while Kane Richardson is also likely to play his first T20 for Australia. But Finch believes the presence of new faces will create and added sense of excitement.

"Cameron Boyce is going to come in and make his debut tomorrow," Finch said. "He's bowled exceptionally well in the Big Bash and bowled well in the game he played in the Champions League. When you have young guys coming in it brings a lot of excitement, a lot of freshness to everyone, not just the guy making his debut, but to everyone in the team.

"They've got such a dangerous batting line-up. They've got hitters all through their innings who can take the game away from you really quick. So I think it's really important that we take wickets all the way through. In T20 cricket, if you take wickets consistently, that's the best way to slow the run-rate. In conditions like this, Pakistan can be such a dangerous team."

One of their most dangerous men is Finch's opposing captain, Shahid Afridi, who is also a newly-appointed leader having replaced Mohammad Hafeez. Last time Finch and Afridi were involved in the same match was in the Lord's celebration game in July; Finch's huge hundred somewhat overshadowed Afridi's second-ball duck.

On Sunday in Dubai, they will shake hands at the toss, both new captains, both with key players missing - the injured Shane Watson and Mitchell Marsh for Australia, the banned Saeed Ajmal and injured Hafeez for Pakistan. And over the following three hours, Finch will hope his memorable 2014 continues with a first-up victory.