Aaron Finch under fire as telling photo emerges at T20 World Cup

Aaron Finch is being urged to relinquish his place in Australia's T20 World Cup side after making some unwanted history on Tuesday night against Sri Lanka.

Marcus Stoinis blasted the fastest half century in Australian T20 history to take his side to a much-needed seven-wicket victory in Perth.

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Stoinis struck an unbeaten 59 off 18 balls to get Australia over the line, chasing down Sri Lanka's total of 6-157 with 21 balls to spare.

However question marks remain over Aussie captain Finch, who finished unbeaten alongside Stoinis on 31.

The under-fire captain took 42 balls to make his 31, in one of the scratchiest displays of his decorated career.

Finch could only manage four runs off his first 15 balls and was struggling to lay bat on ball.

The 35-year-old was so bemused by one Lahiru Kumara delivery that he quipped to the umpire: "Happy to take any ideas if you know how to hit that".

The Aussie captain, who recently announced his retirement from ODI cricket, became the first player in T20 history not to record a boundary in an innings of at least 40 balls.

“You can’t have a player scoring 27 from 39 deliveries,” former Sri Lankan player Russel Arnold said at one stage in commentary.

“Through this tournament it’s going to hurt.”

Finch said after the match: “Obviously my innings was unusual. It was poor. I just couldn’t hit the ball.

“They bowled a hard length and it was tough. It’s such a big ground, it’s hard to stand and deliver and especially with a bit of bounce and the ball seaming slightly, you feel it’s not quite as easy to hit the middle of the bat.

“That’s no excuse for how I played, but it was nice to get the two points.”

Tellingly, Finch was spotted chatting to former West Indies captain Darren Sammy after the match.

Sammy also struggled with his form and contributed little to the West Indies' World Cup triumph in 2016.

Cricket journalist Bharat Sundaresan tweeted a photo of Finch and Sammy, writing: "Aaron Finch having a long chat with Darren Sammy, someone who knows all about not being at his best personally in a T20 World Cup and yet managing to lead his team to the title."

Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell star for Australia

Australia recorded 21 dot balls and no boundaries off the bat during the six-over power play, crawling to 1-33 to start their innings.

But the arrival of Glenn Maxwell turned the contest on its head.

Maxwell cracked 22 runs off his first six deliveries as Australia plundered 47 off three overs to move to 2-85 after 10.

His dismissal for 23 off 12 balls brought Stoinis to the crease, and the West Australian smashed Australia over the finish line in the most brutal knock of his career.

"Once I got in, the plan was to just keep going." Stoinis said.

"To be honest I was really nervous today, being at home in front of lots of family and friends here.

"But I'm really happy that we ended up putting on a bit of a clinic there."

Australia's preparations for the must-win match hit a hurdle when spinner Adam Zampa was struck down by Covid-19.

Under new rules Zampa could have still played, but Australia decided to err on the side of caution by playing Ashton Agar instead.

Mitchell Starc (1-23), Josh Hazlewood (1-26) and Agar (1-25) were economical, but Pat Cummins ended with an expensive 1-36 after being taken for 20 runs in the final over.

with AAP

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