England cricket great's bold Aaron Finch declaration

After Australia’s 41-run World Cup win over Pakistan, English cricketing great Michael Vaughan made an intriguing declaration about Aaron Finch.

After hitting a crucial knock of 82 before claiming just his fourth ODI wicket later in the match, it was a banner day for the sometimes maligned Australian captain.

But his performance won him a fan in Vaughan, who said Finch had been “the best captain this tournament so far”.

The former English captain told the BBC Finch had managed his bowlers extremely well at the death, with his moves arguably handing the Aussies the game when Pakistan looked poised to steal a victory.

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“I have to say Aaron Finch, so far in this tournament, for me he has been the best captain tactically," Vaughan said.

“I think he manoeuvred his team against the West Indies well to win that game.

“And just over the last hour (against Pakistan), when it started to get a little bit panicky for Australia, he manoeuvred his bowling attack knowing that he had to get these overs of spin in.”

Vaughan also praised Finch for gambling on an ultimately decisive review of the dismissal of Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz.

At the time, Riaz had been threatening to take the game away from the Aussies.

After initially appearing reluctant to call for the review, Finch successfully rolled the dice in a game-changing moment.

“It was his instinct to go for that review,” the former England skipper said.

“I don't think he felt it was out, but right at the last minute he thought ‘you know what, we have to gamble, we have to try and get Wahab Riaz out'.

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“He gambled on the review.

"He got a lot of things right in the field in terms of squeezing at the right time, putting the catches in at the right time and then spreading them out when a partnership started to develop. I thought he was outstanding as a captain."