Follow Jimmy and you can be some Finn special again

Former England paceman Fraser urges struggling bowler to copy Anderson's route to the top
P112 James Anderson
Getty
Tom Collomosse22 May 2013

Steve Finn should study the career of Jimmy Anderson as he tries to regain top form, according to his mentor Angus Fraser.

Finn has struggled this season — he has taken only seven wickets in three Championship matches for Division One leaders Middlesex, where Fraser is director of cricket, and was fighting to find his rhythm during England’s win over New Zealand in the First Investec Test at Lord’s.

While Fraser accepts Finn is below his best, he emphasised that the 24-year-old is still learning the game and that his England colleague Anderson did not develop into a world-class bowler until he was a little older.

“Anderson is a good example,” said Fraser. “It took him a while to work out what he was trying to do but then, all of a sudden, it started to happen.

“It took him some time to develop into the finished product and there aren’t many bowlers for whom things just happen straight away, where they just come into the side and click.

“Steve will find out what works for him. Everyone will have an idea on what he should be trying to do and trying to help him but when you’re running in to bowl, you want there to be a maximum of two things in your head, not half a dozen.

“I spent time with him before the First Test and I had lunch with him on Monday. We speak before and after games and in between matches but it’s a question of not having too many people in your ear at one time.

“If he wants to chat, he knows where the phone is.”

Finn has always had the knack of taking wickets and has improved steadily during his time for England, to the extent that he is now in their first-choice XI in all forms of cricket when fit. Yet there have also been glitches to overcome.

During the early part of his Test career, Finn would lose his balance during his follow-through and then he developed the habit of kicking the stumps as he reached his delivery stride — which is now a no-ball. That rule has cost England wickets and in its aftermath, Finn tested a shorter run-up to eradicate the flaw. He has, however, now reverted to his longer approach — a tactic Fraser considers correct.

Fraser, who played 46 Tests for England, also believes Finn has little room for error because he has to make his mistakes in international cricket, rather than being able to travel under the radar in the county game.

“He’s learning to be a high-quality bowler in the public gaze, rather than in the relative privacy of county cricket,” Fraser said.

“He knows he’s not bowling as well as he can and while it’s right he’s gone back to his original run-up, he doesn’t have the consistency he wants.

“That will only come through bowling. It might click in the next Test at Headingley [on Friday] or it might not happen until later in the summer.

“He took four for 63 in the first innings against New Zealand but sometimes you have to take away the wickets and look at the figures. He bowled only 15 overs, so he’s going for too many runs. The important thing [for Steve] is to try to bowl consistently and trust that the wickets will come.”

Finn is expected to retain his place in the bowling attack in Leeds, where England and New Zealand were due to begin their preparations today.

Former captain Daniel Vettori has joined the Black Caps squad after left-arm spinner Bruce Martin was ruled out of the tour with a calf injury.

David Warner has been hit with the maximum fine possible after pleading guilty to breaching the Cricket Australia code of behaviour.

The batsman posted unsavoury comments on Twitter towards journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn after taking exception to the former’s article over the Indian Premier League.

The 26-year-old, who was fined £3,700, said: “While I disagreed with the story and my image being used alongside it, I could have chosen my words better.”

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