‘Unselectable’ Finn has been to hell and back

They say nice things happen to nice people but Steven Finn was probably doubting that during the past two years.

he has been through hell. To burst on the scene bowling so well and then be described as unselectable while still on tour in Australia, carrying the drinks, must have been very difficult to take.

We saw him out there working hard every day but the rumours were he couldn’t hit the cut strip and had completely lost it. It is a lesson to any bowler out there.

he had to go through the hard times and come out the other side, in a similar manner to Jimmy Anderson early in his career. he struggled having changed his action and had to go back to being natural.

The thing that got Finn through was his honesty with himself. I heard him do an interview with Mike Atherton and he made no excuses. he said: ‘I am the one who is not bowling right.’ I like when people look at themselves even if they might have been mismanaged.

he has done it through an incredible amount of hard work, things that we won’t see; day in day out, analysing himself, bowling in the nets, changing his run-up, getting the rhythm. It is not an easy skill bowling 90mph.

he had that natural talent taken away and literally had to go to stage one to get it back. That speaks volumes for the bloke and his mental strength.

Angus Fraser and Richard Johnson at Middlesex must take credit. Johnson will have helped mechanically with Fraser, the old carthorse, offering a philosophical arm round the shoulder — he has been through the ups and downs of international cricket too.

Finn should take most of the credit, of course. his greatest assets used to be pace and bounce. Now he is getting his hand and wrist right behind the ball, producing full deliveries and getting the ball to swing away, which is a great sign. he has also developed a slightly scrambled seam delivery that goes across the left-hander.

he does not jump in and out of his run-up like before, keeping a straight line. Glenn McGrath always said bowling was about keeping all momentum going towards the batsman.

I don’t blame Ashley Giles (right) for calling Finn unselectable. he was being honest. We were out in Australia asking why Finn wasn’t at least being considered. how many times have we moaned because we don’t get the full truth?

I would have liked Finn to leave the tour earlier, though, and be sent back to Middlesex where he could go about working on his game quietly. It must have been pretty early on he was deemed unselectable.

It was embarrassing for Finn, out in an Ashes tour in the full glare of media and opposition players. It left him very exposed.

But he has done the hard yards. hours and hours of work. That’s why I think it’s an absolutely great story.

And he’s getting good players out. he got Steve Smith, the world No 1 batsman, out twice and the opposition captain out twice.

his workload will increase with the injury to Jimmy Anderson, which is a massive concern. I believe england will go 2-1 up but at a huge cost. The Trent Bridge Test starts next Thursday and the King of Swing gets his wickets at 19 apiece at that ground. he is the leader of the attack.

If he doesn’t make that Test then he probably won’t feature again this series, we’re only talking about three weeks left. There are degrees to intercostal muscle pulls but you can’t mess with them. I would have guarded against even that one extra delivery after he felt the problem. I might, as Alastair Cook, have said: ‘No way, just go off now.’ But Jimmy wanted to try one more from around the wicket. you can only make it worse.

Speaking to some of the bowlers, Michael holding and Ian Botham, that injury hurts. It hurts when you laugh, it hurts sneezing, you are in constant pain. And it is not an area that repairs very quickly. Mark Wood can come back in, and Liam Plunkett is an option. you give someone a chance and they can surprise you; just look at Finn. But one thing is certain, there is no

one like Anderson out there.