In his last series, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, Finch top-scored with 451 runs in five outings, including two centuries and as many half-centuries. It came as a massive relief. Before that, he had managed just one half-century in 11 ODI outings, crossing 30 just thrice.

Add to that a string of single-digit scores in T20Is, and a Test career that went south after a remarkable debut, culminating in him being dropped during the home series against India, and Finch was left fearing the worst.

“But they were better than me, I can live with that. I’m OK with being beaten on the day if I’ve prepared as well as I can.”

Thankfully for Finch, his turnaround in form came at the right time. He’s since had a break, a bit of downtime, and is primed to lead Australia at the World Cup.

“It [return of form] reassured me that I’m a pretty good player. You don’t lose your skill overnight,” Finch said. “Nothing had really changed … I was able to spark something. I went to a more positive spin.”