Image courtesy of: The Metro
Finn struggled to hit the right lines and lengths during the first Test at Trent Bridge
Middlesex’s director of cricket Angus Fraser believes England pace bowler Steven Finn could benefit from a break from international cricket as the huge amount of criticism he has received lately has been affecting his bowling and concentration.
Finn’s ejection from England’s Ashes squad for the second Test at Lord’s and third Test at Old Trafford did not come as much of a surprise to anybody as he struggled to find his line and length and rhythm during the first Test at Trent Bridge.
Finn’s omission has paved the way for Tim Bresnan to show his worth as the Yorkshireman has literally been begging to play some role in this year’s Ashes series.
Finn was also dropped from England’s ODI squad during the Champions Trophy.
“I know he’ll be pretty disappointed,” Fraser said. “He needs to get some bowling under his belt really.
“He’s got to bowl better than he has done and the only way you’re going to improve is by playing cricket. There’s only so much good that net practice can do, you need to get in games where it counts.”
Fraser added that Finn should be proud of what he has accomplished so far at just 24 years of age.
“He’s a young bloke and he’s done all his growing up and his learning, to a large extent, in front of everybody’s eyes,” Fraser said. “Sometimes it’s quite nice to get away from it all, to groove yourself and get it right and come back.
“He’s been in the spotlight. Jimmy Anderson had four or five years before he really established himself as an England bowler – Steven has had quite a bit of success early on but it’s just not happening for him at the moment. There are a few little things that he’s got to work at and careers aren’t straightforward. Players get dropped, players get left out, players go through periods where their confidence and their form is not what they want it to be. Players go away, sort it out, come back and perform to their highest level again.”
Since the end of May, Finn has only represented England in three international matches, two of which have been ODIs and one Test match.
Instead of allowing him to sit on the bench, England have decided to recall Surrey pace bowler Chris Tremlett and let Middlesex deal with Finn’s problems.
Speaking about Finn’s run-up, Fraser noted that the rangy pace bowler has not been knocking down the stumps with his knee as often as he used to, but admitted that the thought of it may have affected his concentration and bowling.
“No, I don’t think it is,” Fraser said. “Cricketers tinker, they’re always trying different things and some you try and abandon, some you try and keep going. Obviously during the winter they tried this shorter run-up, he wanted to give it a go and it didn’t work, didn’t feel as good as he would have hoped in the long run so he’s gone back to his old run-up.
“I’ve always been keen on his longer run-up because he’s a big lad and it tends to take big men some time to get going, rather than being a short sprinter. He gets up to full speed quite early and can then keep going for the last ten yards and concentrate on letting go of the ball.”
Fraser stated that Finn’s return could also help Middlesex rise up the rankings, in which they currently sit at fourth.
“We love having him around at Middlesex, he’s a good lad,” Fraser said. “Hopefully he’ll get back to enjoying his cricket and start performing as we know he can.”