Trevor Bayliss expects a lot more from Steven Finn

Steven Finn was extremely livid after having been ruled out of the World T20 in India. An injury saw him fly back home with the likes of Chris Jordan, David Willey and Ben Stokes forming the major part of the England bowling attack. However, having been restored to the squad for the upcoming home series against the Sri Lankans, Finn will be expected to perform a lot better.

The tall pacer stated that he didn’t know who got it wrong as far as his selection was concerned, something that left him utterly frustrated. However, Finn added that an email from coach Trevor Bayliss stated that the coach wanted him to channel his frustration to aggression with the ball.

“The selectors had to listen to the medical people but I don’t know who got it wrong, it hasn’t been explained to me,” said Finn last month. It resulted in the gangling pace bowler being talked to privately by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

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“Trevor sent me an email and said to use my frustration as motivation to take wickets in the Test matches this summer, which I think was a perfect response to it. You can channel your frustration into the wrong avenues and it can affect you in the wrong way. Used in the right manner, it can only be positive,” Finn said.

“I think I went a little bit of the way towards doing that in South Africa but unless you’re a Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson, you’re never settled in that lineup, I suppose. So it’s about getting yourself to the same level as them and they have done that only through sheer hard work, taking wickets and being consistent. That’s when you make that spot your own,” Finn said

Headingley is perhaps one of the bad hunting grounds for Steven Finn. His knees repeatedly clattered onto the stumps during the series against South Africa in 2012, leading to the pacer’s absence in Tests for a period of two years. He made a fine return in the Birmingham Ashes Test against Australia in 2015, where his eight wickets in the match helped England take a crucial lead.

“[Headingley] is where my kneeing the stumps started, isn’t it? It brings back memories of that, I suppose, but it has been and gone. It’s a funny ground. You don’t get many slopes directly down the wicket Headingley, Hove and Derby are the only three in the country.

“You have to run in harder up the hill and you can almost cruise down the hill but, if you cruise too much, it can throw your rhythm out. It’s hard to get a rhythm at Headingley but, once you find it, that slope can play to your advantage because you can fly in down the hill and you tend to get a little more bounce up the hill. So it will be about adjusting during the practice sessions and getting used to both ends,” Finn remarked.

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