“I was disappointed not to be in the squad in the first place”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England have brought in pace bowler Liam Plunkett as a replacement for fellow seamer Steven Finn after the latter was diagnosed with a side strain.

Finn complained of tightness in his left side after the third Test against South Africa in Johannesburg and underwent scans on Sunday.

With the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) having confirmed that Finn’s tour is over, Plunkett, who was not selected initially, will take his spot in the ODI and Twenty20 squads.

“I was disappointed not to be in the squad in the first place,” Plunkett said. “But I came back here with the Lions determined to play to my best and show I’m still ready if they need me. Then obviously I saw Finny was injured, so I did wonder, and I got the call from James Whitaker.

“We’ve only played a warm-up game out here so far against the UAE but I felt in pretty good rhythm straight away and clicked it up to a decent pace. From the end of last season I’ve pretty much been bowling all the time, and I just had a few weeks off in December.”