England vs South Africa - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Finn-c2566’s exclusion a mistake - Opinion
The First Test between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 and England, at the Oval, in the Investec Series of 2012, was expected to offer plenty for the bowlers. On the fastest track in England and underneath cloudy skies, South Africa’s ability to crush the Poms on the second
day after being outplayed on the first clearly indicates that the Oval pitch rewards those who have pace and bounce.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409 also had plenty of success. Pitching the ball just back of
the length has served South Africa well and when the Proteas responded, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705 managed to beat the bat on numerous occasions as well.
It is thus not understandable why England’s trump card against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the ODIs, Steven Finn has been left out of the first Test. His ability to extract considerable bounce and move the ball off the
seam could have proven very handy for the English.
Without Finn, it seems as if England is heavily relying on swing to attack the Proteas. The 37 overs which were bowled to South Africa till the close of play were similar to the South African bowling, where not enough was aimed at the rib cage. The strengths
of Anderson and Broad were to pitch the ball up and have the ball swing. A different dimension to bowling with a bit more aggression could have rattled the South African batsman, who looked assured at the crease.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473 managed to fend off any delivery which was just short of a length and despite both batsman playing and missing on a few occasions, they were confident in deploying their forward defensive strokes with ease. Finn’s inclusion on
the other hand, could have helped http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 beat the bat and extract plenty of bounce, which the batsman could have found awkward. Such a boost is needed by England, which heavily relies on their one dimensional bowling from their quicks and the spin and guile
of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501.
Finn initially failed to make the final XI for the First Test, where Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Bresnan-c2711 instead and it is understandable as to why. Bresnan
is an established low-order batsman with a Test average of 40.
Yet the advantage that Finn had over Bresnan in the context of this Test Match was that South Africa had not seen a lot of him before. In a largely one dimensional attack, Finn would have been a welcome addition, and also provide an opportunity to make a
name for himself in what could be the most competitive Test series of the year. He can consistently clock 145 Km/http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hugh-Morris-c63550 and with his height, and South Africa could have tasted their own medicine, which they fed the English with effect.
For England to take this series and assert themselves as the best Test side in the world, an aggressive approach needs to be adopted. There needs to be plenty of rib cage bowling and chin music to try and send a message to the South African batsman. Finn
would have been ideal to fulfill those objectives.
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