Australia captain Aaron Finch has written off his painful Twenty20 World Cup knock as an "anomaly" and believes he is the right choice to open.
Regularly under-fire during the past 12 months, the 35-year-old will lead the reigning champions into a must-win contest against England at the MCG on Friday night.
Despite mounting pressure to retain his spot, including from legendary former Australia captain Allan Border who called for Steve Smith to replace him in the XI, Finch is determined to push on.
It comes after the powerful right-hander could barely contain his frustration as he crawled to 31 not out off 42 balls in the seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday night.
"I think it was an anomaly in my career, it was just one of those days," Finch told reporters at the MCG on Thursday.
"I still feel like I'm playing pretty well.
"I still feel confident in my game, 100 per cent.
"I don't feel anymore pressure than I ever have, the only pressure is the expectation you put on yourself.
"Everyone's got their opinion, that's fine.
I've got no issue with what people's personal opinions are, I don't read or listen to any of it."
Australia's Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has also come under criticism for his start to the tournament, with former selector Mark Waugh saying the star quick should be dropped.
But Finch has emphatically backed in the world's No.1-ranked Test bowler.
"His (Cummins) numbers over the last 18 months have been outstanding in T20 cricket," Finch said.
"It blows my mind sometimes where people go with selection chat.
"He's been unbelievable over all three formats for a long time and the calmness and experience that he brings to a bowling group is invaluable."
Legspinner Adam Zampa missed the important victory over Sri Lanka after testing positive for COVID-19.
Zampa is in contention to return against England, but wicketkeeper Matthew Wade on Thursday contracted the virus.
Wade's symptoms are minor and he is expected to play.
However, if his condition deteriorates and he can't play then Australia will be forced to hand the gloves to Finch, star batter David Warner or even explosive allrounder Glenn Maxwell.
"(Zampa) was really flat the day before the game and we were going to give him as much time as possible to get up for the game but we just thought it'd be too much, you want to be 100 per cent going into a World Cup game," Finch said.
The clash between the famous rivals takes on extra significance following England's shock loss to Ireland on Wednesday night.
Australia were thumped by New Zealand in their opening game, but prospects of progressing to the semi-finals were enhanced by England's disastrous stumble.
But Australia simply have to beat England otherwise their title defence on home soil will be over after just three games.
England will enter the match full of confidence having beaten Australia 2-0 in their recent bilateral series and pulled off a resounding victory against Finch's team in the group stage of last year's world cup.