Sharjah: Australian skipper Aaron Finch knows that his opponents Pakistan are not as strong as they could have been, with six of their main players rested for the ODI series in the UAE, but he is not willing to take it easy.

After unveiling the trophy for the five-match series with Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malek, Finch said: “We will give them as much respect as what we gave India and what we give every other country.”

Finch has many reasons as to why he bestows respect on his opponents. “I think they still have got lot of experience in their team and they still is a world class team. We cannot take them (Pakistan) lightly in any form of the game at any time. They are such a highly skilled and talented team and so we are definitely giving them respect. We have seen it when we were in Dubai for the T20 series.”

Finch believes that Pakistan’s familiarity with the conditions here can come handy. “They have obviously played in these conditions for a long time but coming off the tour of India is very crucial that we managed to play some really good cricket there,” he said. “Maybe, Sharjah is not as dry as what we have seen so far but I think over all it is a sub-continent-type wicket. We have a lot of experience in our side and we have lot of experience playing in these conditions here in Sharjah. I think it will help us a lot.”

When Gulf News asked how he would view this series as it is their team’s last chance before the World Cup, Finch said: “It is about trying to maintain our momentum that we got in India. I think since we played South Africa in Australia we have got better and better the whole time. I think we are starting to get a real strategy in a real game plan and how we want to play one day cricket and it is just about making sure that we continue in that way as improving. Obviously we want to win that is important but leading into the World Cup and things like that is important to just keep improving the whole time.”

Finch revealed that there are some places up for grabs for the World Cup but more than that it is important for everyone to keep playing together. “I think when you look through our lists probably I presume 20 players could make that 15,” he said. “So still there is still few places that are up for grabs. It is an important tour for as they are up for grabs and it is an important tour for a lot of us. So it is about continuing to improve and I think keep playing as much cricket as we can possibly together because that it important when you get into high pressure situations. So we should play as much cricket was we can together so the selection side will take care of themselves and it is never an easy job but it is just about momentum and improvement.”