Steven Finn admits he must 'start performing' to force way back into England Test side after injuries

After the highs of being an Ashes winner in the summer of 2015, the winter of 15/16 has been a deeply frustrating one for Steven Finn.

It’s been a catalogue of misfortune for the 6’8 fast bowler. He’s had three separate injuries all of which have ruled him out of the England team at various points. Selected for the tour of the UAE against Pakistan, he picked up a foot injury ruling him out of the rest of that tour. This meant he was initially excluded from the touring squad of South Africa. After a quick recovery, he did travel to South Africa bowling well in the first three Test matches but then a side strain ended his tour. Then just as he had recovered from that side strain and after having been named in the World Twenty20 squad he picked up a minor injury to his calf which led to the England management deciding to remove him from the squad replacing him with Liam Plunkett.

Talking ahead of the start of the 2016 County Championship on Sunday, Finn’s frustration was abundantly clear both from his words and the tone of his voice.

“The calf injury was a frustrating one because there wasn’t actually much wrong with me – I was back up and running after that one within a week of me doing it.”

By then though, he’d been removed from England’s World T20 squad. It’s apparent that Finn believes this decision was taken prematurely. “I actually bowled a flat out session after my calf injury the day that England played their first World T20 warm up match. I was fully fit. I was so frustrated I wasn’t there but you the decision was made quite quickly – it was out of my hands.”

“I told them I’d be fit” Finn said before his tone changed back to his more usual calm pragmatism. “I guess it just didn’t happen but it was very frustrating not to be there. I was gutted for the guys but they did so well to get to the Final. It was so disappointing not to get over the line in that final over.”

Instead of being there helping the team, a fully fit Steven Finn watched England’s World T20 on the sofa with his Middlesex team mates John Simpson and Sam Robson.

“I am a nervous watcher and that was heartbreaking. I know all of those guys well very well – I could almost feel the pain that they were going through.”

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From the frustrations of the winter, Finn becomes more positive as he talks about the summer ahead and remembers his remarkable return to Test form at Edgbaston last summer.

“Before the injuries and after the success of last summer, I had got to the point where I felt like I was in the Test team after the success of the Ashes. I got told I would have played the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi if hadn’t got injured just before. It’s all been really frustrating but I can take solice from the fact that I know I am in the hunt to be in the England team in all three formats. “

But, as Finn is acutely aware from throughout his career, once you are out of the team you have to fight very hard to get yourself back in it and the first few matches of the season really do matter.

“[Stuart] Broad and [James] Anderson are nailed on and so the rest of us are fighting it out for that third seamer spot for the first Test – I have to perform in these first few championship games but I am in a good place – I am happy with how the ball is coming out. People say you don’t really hit your prime until you are 27 or 28 – I was 27 last Monday so I got to pull my finger out and start performing.”