Finn gives glimpse of that missing magic gives

THE career of Steven Finn seems to be full of ebb, flow, turning points and breakthroughs. At Chester-le-Street, where England spent the third day trying to pierce Sri Lanka’s surprisingly stubborn defence, he did his best to confirm the stereotype. As expert Finn-watchers pored over his action, run-up and rhythm for clues, and with Sri Lanka sitting happily at 182 for three, Finn — anonymous until now — began to get into the ear of Kaushal Silva, bending his back with one delivery and forcing him to sway out of the way. The next one was short of a length. Perhaps still flustered, Silva tried to work it to leg, only

to send the ball ballooning high off a leading edge. Jonny Bairstow completed the formalities. It was what Finn (right), and England, needed. ‘I came out after tea and tried to get in a fight more with the batsmen,’ he said. ‘The umpires said, “Don’t use any bad language”, which I obviously adhered to. I was just trying to run in as hard as I can. It’s no secret I’ve been trying to search for rhythm but I feel as though it’s getting there.’ While Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and now Chris Woakes have taken turns to torment Sri Lanka, Finn has at times looked the odd man out — a fast bowler with all the tools wondering how best to use them. His part in the innings win at Headingley was electric, but brief: three wickets in five balls to help polish off Sri Lanka’s second innings. Here, his place in Alastair Cook’s mental pecking order has been clear — Finn has become the fourth of four seamers, overtaken by Woakes and looking over his shoulder at Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball. With Ben Stokes set to return against Pakistan, Finn may be vulnerable. Yet the wicket of Silva was the kind of bolt from the blue a captain cherishes. Cook knows what he can do but Finn admits it can be tough finding ‘something that just makes it click’. Still, as Silva discovered, that ‘something’ has not gone away.