A lot has been written and said of the India-Australia Test rivalry these days: that it rivals the Ashes, that it supersedes the India-Pakistan series, but Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch believes that the competitiveness and the hype surrounding it is no less in the shorter formats.
"India and Australia are two very successful teams, two countries that are very passionate about cricket as well... So it's hard to compare the rivalry (in Tests and ODIs)," Finch said.
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"One is the traditional game of Test cricket and the grind of five days... that mental battle day in day out while one-day cricket is more skill-based obviously, just on that day. If a couple of guys have a great day on the field, it goes a long way in winning the match.
"That said, it's (rivalry) not a case of being less important or being taken lightly because it's ODI or T20 cricket."
Showing solidarity
Finch also impressed upon the need to demonstrate solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. West Indies players will wear the Black Lives Matter logo on their shirts during the three-Test series against England that begins on July 8 in Southampton.
"We haven't caught up as a main group for about three weeks on a conference call. I think that's being planned over the next wleek. And there will be more discussion and that'll (showing solidarity with the campaign) come up obviously.
"It's been a huge issue and whatever way we can support it, I think that's important. We are in a world where we probably get a little bit more exposure than a lot of other people, so standing up for it will be crucial. There will be something no doubt."
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Best interest
Finch said it should be the prerogative of all countries to do the best they can to get the sport up and running in these trying times. "What we've got to be really mindful now is just having the best interests of all cricket supported, whether it's Australia, India, England, South Africa, whichever country, I think we've all got to get around each other and do what's best for cricket.
"That might mean a little bit of short-term pain, or not ideal scenarios for a particular country, but the fact we've all just got to get together and make it work for the good of the game, I think that's the most important thing to remember. We all want to be playing as much as we can wherever we can, whatever we have to do to get the game back up and running, but it just comes down to the fact there's going to be a lot of give and take, a lot of compromise from a huge amount of stakeholders, so I think we're just going to have to be really flexible in that regard," he said.
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