Cricket Exclusive: Why Steven Finn is key to England’s World T20 hopes

Steven Finn is key to England’s hopes of success at the World T20 in March, and his bowling coach explains exactly why.

Steven Finn has been backed to be a “major threat” for England at the World T20 by his Middlesex bowling coach Richard Johnson.

The 26-year-old was forced to leave both England tours of the United Arab Emirates and South Africa early this winter due to injury but is expected to be fully fit for the tournament in India in March.

And the man who helped rebuild Finn’s game after his “unselectable tour” in Australia two years ago expects the seamer to bounce back without a problem.

“His T20 record is exceptional. He bowls good heat and back of a length, ” Johnson told Yahoo Sport UK in an exclusive interview.

“I think in any format when you’re six foot seven and can bowl at 90 mph, bang out of a length and shape the ball away you’re going to be top quality in any game you play in.

“He hasn’t had the opportunity this winter to necessarily swing that white ball (since adjusting his technique), although he had a little bit last summer.

“The white ball doesn’t swing as much anyway but he’s got a natural angle to slip now so he was a wicket taker before and now I think he’ll be a major threat.”

Having impressed with 11 wickets in the first three Tests in South Africa, Finn sustained a side injury and missed the final Test and will also sit out the limited-over matches of the tour.

He was also forced home from the earlier tour of the UAE, where England faced Pakistan, without playing in a competitive game after injuring his foot in a warm-up match.

After he was sent home from the Ashes tour two years ago because he was “unselectable”, Finn rebuilt his action with the aid of Johnson on his return to his county side Middlesex.

But he didn’t deploy his new away swinger until the middle of last summer which helped to earn a recall to the Ashes team.

And Johnson, who played three Tests for England himself, says the Watford-born quick is now in a much better place to deal with the natural peaks and troughs of sport as he has more control over his game.

“If you ask Finny, when he burst on the scene he just ran in and bowled and did everything very naturally…but he didn’t know why he bowled well,” said Johnson.

“He just ran in at six foot seven, sending it down at 80 or 90 mph, and got wickets.

“But he didn’t realise how he was doing that. I think it took some setbacks and disappointments to go back to the drawing board a little bit, and to work on him finding out how he does things and why he does things and working that process through.

“So now you’ll find someone who can self coach. When it comes out well he knows why and if it’s not quite good on the day he can work that out for himself and put those little bits right.

“So he’s got a much better understanding of that game now and you’ll see a consistency now which he didn’t have before.”

Johnson also added he was proud to see Finn return to the Test team this summer and also how he played a major role in the series win in South Africa where a lot of their hours together in the nets came to fruition.

“I think he bowled beautifully to be honest,” said Johnson. “The thing we worked on hardest last summer was trying to get him confident bowling the swinging ball and again he bowled with it seam up this winter.

“Not every ball swung but he’s got a natural seam position now to take the ball away from the right handers, where he’d only previously been bringing it back into them.

“So he’s confident enough now to do that. His pace is good. He can work up and down his pace now as well, so when needed he can get it up to 140 kph plus and when it’s shaping he doesn’t need that top end pace.

“All in all he’s matured into a fantastic bowler.”

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