STEVE GETS A FAB HORNETS FINN-ISH
WHILE the England cricket selectors have left Steven Finn scratching his head of late, the seamer has revealed his one true love has kept him chipper.
Finn has lost his place in the England squad for the current tour to West Indies despite having spent the spring catching the eye in an otherwise fateful World Cup campaign.
Yet his beloved Watford kept a smile on his face as they pushed for automatic promotion – and they clinched it in dramatic style yesterday.
After eight years outside the top flight, the Hornets won 2-0 at Brighton in the lunchtime kick-off before Middlesbrough’s last-gasp reverse at Fulham and Norwich’s draw at Rotherham
ensured their return to the Premier League. When The Football League Paper caught up with the cricketer earlier in the week, he wasn’t willing to tempt fate having witnessed play-off heartbreak twice in recent seasons.
“Watford’s success has been a very pleasant distraction from my cricket issues, it’s been great,” said the 26-year-old, who has not played Test cricket for England since 2013.
“I’m gutted actually, because I haven’t been able to go to any games for the whole season – I’ve watched all the ones that have been on TV, but because of the tours and things I’ve not been able to go to Vicarage Road.
“We are still sitting pretty at the moment, but I don’t really want to speak too soon because I’ve done that a few times in the past and it’s come back to bite me on the arse. So I’ll keep schtum on automatic promotion for now.”
Finn can rest easy now as Slavisa Jokanovic’s side look forward to meeting the best in the business on a regular basis next season.
And Watford-born Finn is hoping he can emulate their super season by forcing his way back into England contention for this summer’s Ashes.
And though promotion for Watford might be the nearest Finn gets to going to Old Trafford before the year is out, he added: “Australia are the best team in the world in Test and one-day cricket, so it’s up to us to prove a stiff challenge for them.
“We’re very capable of winning those Ashes.”