Picture the scene. You’re standing at the crease during a Herts Cricket League Championship match against Langleybury. You’re hopeful of a good knock but then an opposition bowler comes into focus. It is England international Steven Finn.
It seems an unlikely scenario but it is one the 26-year-old hopes to turn into reality this summer – although he insists he wouldn’t be bowling 90mph deliveries down the pitch.
“I’m still registered to play for Langleybury and I’m hoping for a game this year,” the Middlesex CCC bowler said.
“I’m hoping to get the green light to play at some stage, maybe as a batsman. But if things get hairy I could roll out a few medium pacers as well.”
This wouldn’t be a case of Langleybury bringing in a quality ringer, however. Finn honed his skills at the club and made his debut for the first team 12 years ago.
“I stay in touch with the guys and get down there as often as I can,” he explained earlier this week.
Finn remains a ‘Watford boy’. He lives in Kings Langley and is an ardent Watford FC supporter. And like any Golden Boys fan he is keeping a close eye on the Hornets’ promotion bid.
He said: “I haven’t been able to go to any games this season. I’ve watched all the ones on TV but because of the tours I’ve not been able to go.
“Two games to go, we’re sitting pretty at the top of the league but I’m not going to speak too soon because I’ve done it a few times in the past and it has come back to bite me in the a***. So I’m going to keep schtum.”
While Watford could be planning for a season in the Premier League this summer Finn is hoping to help England reclaim the Ashes from Australia.
The bowler suffered the lowest point of his career Down Under during the 2013 series. He was sent home and England one-day coach Ashley Giles said Finn was “not selectable”.
The former Parmiter’s School pupil has worked hard to recapture the form that made him the youngest bowler to claim 50 Test wickets for England and believes he is getting back to his best.
“To come home from that tour was the right decision in my opinion, it could have happened earlier to be honest,” Finn admitted.
“I could have come home and got my head straight. We live and we learn, it’s something I don’t particularly want to experience again but hopefully I’m more clued up about my bowling now.”
He continued: “Everything at the crease is as I want it to be. The guys at Loughborough University did studies on it and my pace hasn’t particularly dropped while I’ve played for England but I could bowl one spell that was 92, 93 miles an hour and that wasn’t there in the World Cup and over the winter.
“I’ve been trying to find a way to get back to that but technically, my bowling is as good as it has been in terms of where my body is when it’s at the crease.
“We’re looking at the one per cent that could make a big difference and my running style to the wicket is something I’ve had my issues with. So it’s about getting back to being as natural as possible.”
The England side is currently on tour in the West Indies for a Test series. It is the first Test tour Finn has missed since he made his England test debut in 2010.
He admitted he was disappointed to miss the trip but accepted he must prove he is an automatic pick to the selectors.
“I’ve had my trials and tribulations over the last 12 months or so,” he said. “It’s tricky, I haven’t played a four-day game or a Championship-style game since August last year so I suppose I’m being judged on how I bowled in the one-day competitions over the winter.
“Even though I felt ok and got wickets, there was obviously something missing that the selectors wanted to see from me. I’ve worked hard to try and make it more consistent since I’ve been home.”
Finn was asked if the England selectors explained their decision to leave him out of the squad. He replied: “They just said, ‘there’s not a lot you’re doing wrong but you’re in a pack. You’re not one of the stand-out bowlers at the moment.
“You’re in a pack with the supporting cast to Jimmy (Anderson) and Broady (Stuart Broad).’ “Other guys were selected ahead of me for this tour. It’s up to me to try to turn that round and make myself one of the guys who is picked automatically.
“It is the first Test tour I’ve missed since I started playing for England in 2010. It hurts not to be there but I can only try to learn from it and get better.”
The bowler added: “I certainly feel like I’m ready [for Test cricket]. I don’t think I would have done myself a disservice if I’d been on that trip.
“At the World Cup I was getting proper wickets. But all I can do is try to feel like I’m bowling well. That’s the one thing I can control.
“Actually coming back and having a few weeks here with Middlesex and getting my head straight hasn’t been the worst thing. I’m gutted I’m not in the West Indies helping England win games of cricket, but it’s the next best thing.”
This summer more than 1,000 cricket clubs will take part in Club Open Days, supported by Waitrose. Register your club at www.ecb.co.uk/clubopendays.
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