England debutant Steve Finn revels in 'surreal' Test call-up
England new boy Steve Finn admits being fast-tracked into England Test side to face Bangladesh is "surreal"
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Monday, 15, Mar 2010 04:54
By Will Haine.
England new boy Steve Finn has admitted to finding life rather surreal after being fast-tracked into the England Test side to face Bangladesh.
Having initially been called into the squad as cover for the injured Ryan Sidebottom and Graham Onions, as well as the not fully fit Stuart Broad, the 20-year-old was facing Bangladesh A after barely 24 hours on the sub-continent.
And, despite pacemen Ajmal Shahzad and Liam Plunkett already with the tour party, Finn impressed enough in the warm-up match to earn himself an international debut in the first Test at the expense of the aforementioned pair.
"It was a surreal moment because, even though I'd bowled well in the warm-up game, I still realised I was out here as a back-up player," Finn said after claiming two wickets in the match so far.
"It's something that, sat in my flat nine of ten days ago, I wasn't expecting. So I've got an opportunity that hopefully I'll be able to grasp with both hands and the way I've bowled in the game is hopefully making more of an impression."
The 6ft 7in seamer also explained the events of his whirlwind addition to the England squad.
"I was lying in bed at about 09:00 GMT and [England managing director] Hugh Morris rang my phone and left a message and then the phone was ringing in the flat, so I knew someone was desperate to get hold of me! Eventually I got the call and within 24 hours I was on a flight to Dubai and then to here [Bangladesh]," added the Middlesex bowler.
Finn took the wicket of Imrul Kayes on day four in Chittagong as Bangladesh closed on 191-5 in pursuit of 513 to win the Test. England now require just five wickets on the final day to secure victory, but they had to endure a fruitless final session today as the Bangladeshi batsmen stood firm on an extremely flat wicket.
But Finn is sure that he and the rest of England's bowling unit have the firepower to wrap up the win tomorrow.
"We were always confident coming into this game that we were going to win it," he explained.
"We've got the players in the dressing room who are capable of doing so and it's just a fantastic opportunity for us to go out tomorrow and prove that we can roll over teams on decks that aren't doing much."