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Luke Ronchi’s fine season of recovery continued when he gave Western Australia the upper hand in Hobart

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009Tasmania 1 for 91 (Cowan 42*) trail Western Australia 8 for 442 dec (Towers 124, Ronchi 122, Noffke 61, Voges 52) by 351 runs

Scorecard
Luke Ronchi brought up his second century of the summer•Getty Images

Luke Ronchi’s fine season of recovery continued when he gave Western Australia the upper hand with an aggressive century on the second day against Tasmania in Hobart. Ronchi was Australia’s one-day wicketkeeper on the limited-overs tour of the West Indies in 2008, but by the end of last summer he was dropped by his state.The 122 was his second Shield hundred of the current campaign, taking him to 392 runs, and put him in second place on the run list behind Ed Cowan, who steered Tasmania’s reply. At the start of the day the Warriors needed a lift after resuming at 4 for 244 and Ronchi provided it when he came in for the nightwatchman Steve Magoffin (6).Ronchi brought up his century off 99 balls and his partnership of 172 with Ashley Noffke allowed Western Australia to relax. Noffke picked up 61 while Ronchi had 17 fours and two sixes in his impressive collection.Jonathan Wells fell for 16 in Tasmania’s innings before Cowan dragged them back up to 1 for 91 at stumps. Cowan was unbeaten on 42 while Alex Doolan had 29.

Sri Lanka Under-19 will consider themselves fortunate, for rain abandoned their contest against Pakistan Under-19 after they had been tottering at 67 for 5 in pursuit of 268 in Dambulla

Cricinfo staff02-Dec-2009
Scorecard
Sri Lanka Under-19 will consider themselves fortunate, for rain abandoned their contest against Pakistan Under-19 after they were tottering at 67 for 5 in pursuit of 268 in Dambulla. Sarmad Bhatti grabbed three wickets, making early inroads into the Sri Lankan line-up, to put Pakistan in a position of dominance before rain undid his efforts.Pakistan had been assertive in their batting performance and were boosted by a century from opener Babar Azam, who struck 14 boundaries. He was supported in a 102-run stand by Shahzaib Ahmed, who chipped in with a half-century. Though Pakistan stuttered towards the end of their innings, losing their last four wickets for 45 runs, the Sri Lankan reply showed they had adequate runs on the board.

Nagraj Gollapudi previews the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Mumbai and Delhi, a blockbuster that has become, in the 21st century, just another contest

The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi02-Jan-2010

Match facts

Sunday, January 3
Start time 09:30

Big picture

Ishant Sharma, out of the Indian team, needs to impress the selectors•Associated Press

Mumbai against Delhi was a blockbuster. That was a fact in the 20th century. In the 21st century it has become just another contest.The thrill that this storied rivalry ignited in the past is now a distant dream. One main reason is the absence of any big name players. It would’ve been a completely different setting and feeling if Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were pitted against each other. But they are not available for the semi-final that starts at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.It could still turn out be a keen contest, though, especially since there is no established match-winner in either side. Delhi reached the semis in typical style – full of chaos. After three league matches they had already slumped to an innings defeat against Uttar Pradesh, but redeemed themselves with two outright wins in the following two matches. Three captains were appointed for the seven previous matches but the team did not disintegrate. Senior players like Aakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas missed four games each but youngsters like Gaurav Chabra and Puneet Bisht grabbed their opportunity with match-winning hundreds.Bisht, the only Delhi player in the top 20 run-scorers this season, has been his team’s most valuable batsman. His two hundreds came when Delhi were on the brink against Saurashtra and Bengal. Chabra’s only century was in the quarterfinals and his 92-run sixth-wicket partnership with Bisht gave Delhi the crucial first-innings lead against favourites Tamil Nadu. In the bowling department, youngsters like Sumit Narwal, Parvinder Awana and the left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, who got a five-for in the quarterfinals, showed patience and made inroads into the opposition’s batting.Defending champions Mumbai, too, never seemed settled, a contrast to the last season when they ran roughshod over nearly every team. Apart from Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane, none of the top order batsmen has scored consistently. Though Sahil Kukreja notched a double-hundred he remains inconsistent. Mumbai tried six different openers in eight previous games and Jaffer has now decided to promote himself as a precautionary measure. It is a wise move in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was picked for the tri-series in Bangladesh.Mumbai’s middle order has floundered but the lower order comprising Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar and Iqbal Abdulla has helped avoid embarrassing situations. The team management is hoping Agarkar recovers from the fever that kept him out of the pre-match practice sessions. Already Dhawal Kulkarni, last year’s highest wicket-taker who has been struggling this season, has been virtually ruled out due a side strain sustained during the quarterfinal against Haryana.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Mumbai – WWWWW
Delhi – WLWWL

Watch out for…

Wasim Jaffer v Ishant Sharma: On his day, Jaffer is a joy to watch. He is a wristy player whose strokes flow smoothly, and incessantly, into various gaps. Hence he is the ideal hurdle for Ishant, who was recently dropped for the tri-series in Bangladesh after his patchy form during the Sri Lanka series. Ishant has admitted he is struggling for form but his hunger can only push him further to prove his worth.Ajinkya Rahane: He is the highest run-getter this season with a double-hundred, three centuries and three fifties. Last year he was the second-best batsman in the competition, and one of only two batsmen to cross the 1000-run mark. Though he had a terrible start this year, failing in the first three matches, Rahane worked on his mindset, realising he had to curb his aggressive instincts early on and play the anchor instead. Along with Jaffer, he would be the most prized wicket for Delhi’s bowlers.

Team news

Mumbai: (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer (capt), 2 Sahil Kukreja, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Onkar Khanvilkar, 5 Abhishek Nayar, 6 Vinayak Samant (wk), 7 Ajit Agarkar/Sushant Marathe, 8 Ramesh Powar, 9 Iqbal Abdulla, 10 Aavishkar Salvi, 11 Usman Malvi.Delhi: (probable) 1 Rajat Bhatia (capt), 2 Shikar Dhawan, 3 Mayank Tehlan, 4 Aditya Jain, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Gaurav Chabra, 7 Puneet Bisht (wk), 8 Ishant Sharma, 9 Chaitanya Nanda, 10 Vikas Mishra, 11 Pradeep Sangwan.

Pitch and conditions

The Brabourne pitch has always been a result-oriented one and will provide assistance to both batsmen and bowlers. Captains will not think twice about batting first if they call the toss right.

Quotes

“We have changed three captains this season and everything went smoothly. We know what our goal is and we just wanted to work towards that.”
“We haven’t been getting very good starts and with Rohit not there I need to take up the responsibility of opening the innings. If we get past the new ball we can hope to post a big total. “

Chris Tremlett, the 6ft 7 quick bowler, is set to sign for Surrey after being given permission by current team Hampshire to talk to other clubs

Cricinfo staff24-Jan-2010Chris Tremlett, the six-foot-seven-inch paceman, has signed for Surrey on a three-year deal after being given permission by Hampshire to leave the Rose Bowl.Tremlett, 28, played three Tests for England in 2007 and impressed as his pace and bounce brought 13 wickets against India. Since then, he has been ravaged by injuries and has fallen off the selectors’ radar.Chris Adams, the Surrey coach, said however, that Tremlett has his best years ahead of him and has all the attributes to push for an international recall. “In Chris Tremlett, Surrey have signed a bowler of Test Match ability who is just beginning to approach the prime of his career,” he said.”His height, action and pace make him very well suited to bowling at The Oval and I am looking forward to him developing partnerships with our existing pace attack. He is joining a very different and highly motivated Surrey side and I feel we have got somebody that has the right attributes to continue his England career.”Surrey are in a period of rebuilding their side having appointed 22-year-old Rory Hamilton-Brown as their captain for next season and Tremlett said he’s looking forward to helping Surrey return to the pinnacle of the domestic game. “Coming to Surrey will open an exciting chapter in my career and I am very much looking forward to getting the opportunity to work alongside my new team mates to help return this great club back to the top of English cricket.”Tremlett has taken 289 wickets at 28.66 in his first-class career, but played only seven championship matches for Hampshire during another injury-plagued season last year. With the arrival of Kabir Ali, another former England bowler, at the Rose Bowl last week, Tremett’s place in the Hampshire side was uncertain.”Chris is in a similar position to what Kabir was at Worcestershire,” Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, said. “A new environment will help to challenge and revitalise his career at both domestic and International level and he has therefore been released from his contract with immediate effect. I sincerely hope that this move will allow him to regain the cutting edge we all know he possesses and give him the best chance of re-capturing a place in the England team.”

Mohammad Yousuf has said that there was one player responsible for disrupting the team’s unity during the disastrous tour of Australia

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2010Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain for the New Zealand and Australia tours, has targeted one player in the aftermath of the disastrous tour for being a particularly disruptive influence. Though he gave broad hints during a lengthy TV interview, he stopped short of revealing the name of the player.”There is no doubt there is only one player in the team who is disturbing team unity and other players. I spoke to coach Intikhab Alam and other management about it and they agreed with me,” Yousuf told . “I will only disclose his name to the chairman of the board, Ijaz Butt.””Intikhab Alam (coach), Abdur Raqeeb (manager) and [Shahid] Afridi know who the player is and we discussed it as well several times,” Yousuf added. “From New Zealand onwards Intikhab was telling me to be wary of him, but I wanted to see for myself. I saw in Australia how his body language was and we dropped him from the Tests. We decided in Australia during a meeting that we had to do something about him.”Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0 in Australia, were whitewashed 5-0 in the ODIs for only the second time in history, and lost the final game of the tour as well – a Twenty20 international at the MCG.Though Yousuf was widely appreciated as a leader of the group off the field, his on-field captaincy came in for much criticism, in particular from the last day of the Sydney Test onwards. His cause wasn’t helped by a statement from the board chairman midway through the tour – denied eventually – that the captaincy would change hands once the tour ended.Yousuf said the statement had an effect on the side. “I don’t know when the statement was made, but when it was, suddenly everyone in the team changed. Six or seven players started to see themselves as captains all of a sudden. At the start of the tour in New Zealand, the players were cooperating with me, but as the tour went on I felt they weren’t because they knew I wouldn’t be captain in the next series.”Yousuf defended his leadership, arguing that nobody wanted the job when the toughest challenges presented themselves. “I don’t have natural leadership qualities in me but I have tried hard to do a good job of the responsibility given to me,” he said. “It is unfair to compare me with Ricky Ponting as far as captaincy is concerned because he is far more experienced. I accepted the captaincy in the best interest of my country.”If you look around the world every country’s top performing player is the captain. If in Pakistan a youngster becomes the top performing player in the side by all means make him captain. I did it at a difficult time when nobody was prepared to do it.”

Brendon McCullum has said the heated exchanges between players, like the one between Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris in the first ODI in Napier, were likely to continue for the remainder of the series

Cricinfo staff04-Mar-2010Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman, has said the heated exchanges between players, like the one between Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris in the first ODI in Napier, are likely to continue for the remainder of the series. Johnson and Styris bumped shoulders and appeared to clash heads in the 46th over of New Zealand’s chase, and were fined by the match referee as a result. But McCullum said the nature of the trans-Tasman rivalry made for an intense atmosphere on the field.”Australia is playing New Zealand, so it’s always going to be testy,” McCullum was quoted as saying in the . ”Both teams are playing for their countries, trying to win for their countries, and we’re always going to have banter out in the middle. What we saw [between Johnson and Styris] was two guys who are extremely passionate in trying to pull through for their country.”Both players had a talking to from the match referee, so that might suggest it went a little bit too far, it probably bordered on just stepping over the mark, but once we get out there again I’m sure the fight will come to the fore in both teams again.”I don’t think it’s a bad thing, to be honest. It shows everyone watching how much it means to us.”
McCullum said Australia’s defeat in the first ODI, by two wickets, could prompt them to be more aggressive in the second game at Eden Park in Auckland. ”I guess that’s the way Australia always come out – they play hard but they try to push the rules as far as they can,” McCullum said. ”They’re obviously going to come back twice as hard now and we’re just going to have to step up again.”We want to be as aggressive and uncompromising as we can – in terms of our skill set. Any of those other things, we don’t try to instigate.”Michael Hussey, the Australian batsman, said his team was quite focussed on the cricket. ”I didn’t really see it, actually. I was stuck out on the boundary,” he said. ”It seemed like they bumped into each other but it’s been dealt with now. Most things that happen out in the middle, it’s best if they’re just left out in the middle. We’re certainly at our best when we’re just concentrating on our cricket.”However, Hussey added that outbursts similar to Johnson’s would continue. When asked if Johnson’s actions were out of character, he said: ”He’s a pretty passionate sort of guy, he plays the game hard, and out in the middle there are always going to be emotions. It’s happened throughout the history of the game and I’m sure it won’t be the last time. Fast bowlers are always pretty emotional sorts of guys. New Zealand’s approach hasn’t surprised us at all.”

A preview of the fourth ODI between West Indies and Zimbabwe at Kingstown

The Preview by Liam Brickhill11-Mar-2010

Match facts

Friday March 12, 2010
Start time 9.30am (13.30GMT)Kemar Roach’s incisive pace could wrap up the series for West Indies•Getty Images

Big Picture

The fourth game gives West Indies the chance to wrap up the series after their resounding 141-run win on Wednesday, which represented a palpable shift in momentum between the two sides. Importantly for the home side, the win was built upon a solid team effort, lead by Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s patient fifty and Darren Sammy’s superb use of the conditions, as Zimbabwe unravelled completely after a promising start to their chase.Zimbabwe’s capitulation was all too familiar. They have found themselves similarly poised in previous series, against West Indies in the home series in 2007-08 and twice against Bangladesh last year, having won the first game but then lacking the determination and experience to build on successes with any consistency.Hamilton Masakadza seems to be the only member of the top order to have come to terms with an unfamiliar bowling attack, but the regular fall of wickets at the other end has forced him to play too tentatively, as was evidenced by the limp, uncertain shot that lead to his dismissal in the third game.Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya’s decision to field first after he won the toss for the third match in a row raised eyebrows among team mates and locals alike, especially as the touring side had gone in to the match with only one specialist seamer – Elton Chigumbura – and five spinners. Zimbabwe had punched above their weight so far on this tour, but a lack of depth, particularly in their batting, means that they struggle to cope with pressure when conditions do not suit them.West Indies, on the other hand, are beginning to play with a renewed sense of responsibility and purpose after the debacle of their Australian tour. Glimpses of the unity and strength sought by new coach Ottis Gibson are being seen, and the performances of the fringe players, in the absence of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, will be heartening for them.Although both Gibson and captain Chris Gayle have repeatedly urged against taking the opposition lightly, West Indies will go into the fourth match confident in the thought that they are one positive performance away from sealing a morale-boosting series victory. It will take a monumental effort for Zimbabwe to bounce back from their trouncing, and the extent to which they are able to do so will be a good indication of how far the team has progressed.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

West Indies WWLLL
Zimbabwe LLWLL

Watch out for…

The second game at Providence aside, Hamilton Masakadza has made promising starts in every international match of this tour, without being able to push on for a big score. If Zimbabwe are to stage a fightback their brittle batting line-up will rely heavily on his ability to dominate the oppostion’s bowlers early on, but he will also need more support from an underperforming middle order if he is to build a matchwinning innings.Kemar Roach has looked threatening all series, even when the slow, low conditions in the first two games did not suit him, and has snatched seven wickets at an average of just 14.14. Zimbabwe’s batsmen have struggled against his pace, and if they find themselves under pressure in the fourth game, he could easily tear through the visitors’ batting order to hasten their slide. Though it was Sammy who utilised the conditions most effectively on Wednesday, if the wicket for the fourth game retains its grassy covering Roach will be a daunting prospect.

Team news

West Indies seem to be gelling as a unit, and they will be unwilling to tamper much with a winning combination. Ravi Rampaul was the only underperformer in the last game, as Masakadza took the attack to him in the opening overs, and he could make way for Sulieman Benn.
West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Kemar RoachThe pitch did not quite suit Zimbabwe’s decision to play five spinners in the previous game, and with Chris Mpofu by far the more experienced of the two seamers in reserve, he should get a look in. Stuart Matsikenyeri has had a wretched tour so far, with just 41 runs from five innings, and he could make way for Charles Coventry in the middle order as Zimbabwe push for a series-levelling win.Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Greg Lamb, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya (capt), 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Arnos Vale Multiplex normally plays slow and low, and while this was the case in the first game, the grass left on the wicket meant there was some assistance for the seam bowlers, with the ball holding up and moving after pitching. There was some turn too, but Zimbabwe’s spinners were not as effective as it was thought they would be. While the weather should be fine, there is a slight chance of rain on Friday.

Stats and Trivia

• Zimbabwe’s spinners have bowled 124.5 overs so far in the one-day series, taking 13 wickets for 535 runs. Their seamers have been used for just 23 overs, and 16 of these were bowled by Elton Chigumbura.
• Since he came back into the team during the tour of Australia, Darren Sammy has averaged 63.00 with the bat (albeit helped by three not-outs) and taken nine wickets at 20.44 in ODIs. Including the opening Twenty20, he has taken nine Zimbabwean wickets at 7.66 on their tour of the Caribbean.

Quotes

“We still believe in ourselves and each other – that doesn’t change after one game – and we know we can hit back in the fourth game on Friday.”

“I have to keep improving so that I can be a permanent fixture in the eleven and in the West Indies squad.”

Former Surrey batsman Mike Hooper has died from cancer. He was 62

Cricinfo staff17-Apr-2010Former Surrey batsman Mike Hooper has died from cancer. He was 62.Hooper came to Surrey’s attention while at Charterhouse and played for the county between 1967 and 1971 but did not make much impression and never held down a regular place. He made his debut against Yorkshire in 1967 and played 21 matches for Surrey, scoring 406 runs at 15.61 with a best of 41 not out against Oxford University. He quit at the end of the Championship-winning summer of 1971, during which he played four games, to work in the City.Hooper played regularly for the 2nd XI and was in the side that won the Second XI Championship in 1968, scoring a career-best 160 against Middlesex at Esher. Micky Stewart, a spectator at that particular match, told the Surrey website: “Mike was a big, strong and powerful looking lad and extremely well spoken. I will always remember what an innings he played at Esher. Off the back of that knock, I brought him into the upcoming match we had against the Australians which was at The Oval the following day.”Against the Australians, however, Hooper struggled to get the ball away. “I remember I was batting at the other end and in between overs, I went up and told him that this was the same game as he was playing the day before at Esher and to just relax. The advice must have worked as the very next over he got off the mark when he smashed Ashley Mallett straight back over his head for six into the pavilion. Hooper made 25.”Mike was a great lad, extremely well liked by everyone and he will be missed,” Stewart said. “His record doesn’t look as good as it could have when you consider that most of the wickets he played on were more bowler-friendly than they are today.”

Middlesex suffered their first defeat of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign after an error-strewn run chase against Group B rivals Gloucestershire under the floodlights at Lord’s saw them go down with 51 balls to spare

Cricinfo staff14-May-2010
Scorecard
Middlesex suffered their first defeat of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign after an error-strewn run chase against Group B rivals Gloucestershire under the floodlights at Lord’s saw them go down with 51 balls to spare. The Panthers never recovered from a miserable start to their pursuit of 247 and were quickly dismissed for 169 to lose by 77 runs as Anthony Ireland bagged 3 for 36 and Steve Kirby and Vikram Banerjee took two wickets apiece.Home openers Andrew Strauss (14) and Scott Newman (11) fell inside nine overs, the England Test captain pulling firmly into the hands of Hamish Marshall at deep square leg off Jon Lewis then, eight runs on, fellow left-hander Newman hooked an Ireland lifter to Banerjee at long leg. Owais Shah marched in to pull two sixes into the Tavern Stand off the front foot against Ireland and then drove wristily through extra cover against Kirby to post the Middlesex 50.In aiming for a third six, Shah (32 from 33 balls) heaved across the line at left-armer James Franklin only to pick out Lewis at deep fine-leg and make it 74 for 3. Neil Dexter (16), in trying to force a straight one through the covers, was stumped by Jonathan Batty off Banerjee, who then bowled Gareth Berg (17) as he aimed through mid on. Then, when Dawid Malan (42) was run out by Batty’s direct hit after being sent back by non-striker John Simpson, the Panthers’ victory chances went with him.Marshall’s six fours and a six during a 71-ball innings of 85 allowed the visitors to canter along at more than six runs an over after winning the toss. The stocky, mop-topped right-hander, who turned his back on international cricket at the end of 2007, featured in a third-wicket stand worth 74 in 11 overs with Batty (54) that helped Gloucestershire recover from a sticky start.Franklin (2) went in the third over to a low catch at cover by Malan and William Porterfield smeared across the line against Toby Roland-Jones to go leg before for 21. Marshall and Batty sparked the fightback taking 15 from Dexter’s sole over, then Batty reached his half-century from 74 balls by pulling his fifth boundary through midwicket off Tim Murtagh.Murtagh again dropped short, allowing Marshall to hook for six into the Tavern Stand and race to 50 from 43 balls, only for Batty to hole out at long off soon after against Shaun Udal. Udal chipped in with two wickets, Ireland (0) was yorked by Murtagh but crucially, Collins overstepped to concede a no ball and gift Jonathan Lewis a life after Berg took the catch at long on. Lewis cashed in by pulling the resultant free hit for six and repeated the dose two balls later. Some 19 runs came from Collins’ final over, as he finished with 3 for 46.

The Ashes may be six months away, but a solitary Test against an unexpectedly obdurate Bangladesh has already identified the man who will surely come to be recognised as England’s new attack leader

Andrew Miller at Lord's31-May-2010The Ashes may be six months away, but a solitary Test against an unexpectedly obdurate Bangladesh has already identified the man who will surely come to be recognised as England’s new attack leader. Whether it rains or shines in Brisbane in November, and whether England opt for four bowlers or five, one man has the attributes to be a menace in all conditions. Steven Finn is now 6-1 on to board that flight to Australia, and if David Laws was still at the Treasury, he’d be wiring the budget deficit down to Ladbrokes as we speak.It’s not so much the wickets that Finn harvested, but the overall manner in which he went about his work. After all, Steve Harmison once used his extreme height to claim nine against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2003-04, but you cannot imagine two fast bowlers with more polarised temperaments. Of course, when it comes to Brisbane, the less said about Harmison the better, except to say is hard to imagine Finn’s mood and mechanics collapsing in anything like the same manner as occurred on the opening morning in 2006-07.Finn’s modus operandi is simple and to the point. He has a measured run-up and an easy action, reminiscent of the great Glenn McGrath insofar as there is next to nothing that can seemingly go wrong with it. No exaggerated leaps or collapsing front arms, no obvious strain on his back or knees or neck – just a peculiar propensity to lose his footing in his followthrough, which the man himself put down to a 6’7″ frame that turns him into “Bambi on ice” when he gets his tail up.Like McGrath, Finn has made his mark on the Lord’s honours board at the very first attempt. But as James Anderson put it on the third evening, the character whom he takes after the most is his director of cricket at Middlesex, Angus Fraser, who claimed six of his finest wickets on a dead deck in Melbourne in 1990-91, and whom Finn unwittingly echoed when appraising his Man-of-the-Match performance after the game”It was nice to get nine wickets in the game but if I’m being hard on myself I probably got hit for a few too many fours,” he said, as images of Gus’s flying boot and double-teapot stance flooded the mind’s eye. “I’m going to be tough on myself, so if I play the next game at Old Trafford it’s something I’ll look to rectify.”The modesty wasn’t intended as false, but there’s no question that Finn – injury permitting – will resume his role on a surface that is arguably the most consistently rapid in the modern Test game. “Of course Old Trafford appeals to me, after playing in Bangladesh and now on a relatively slow wicket out here,” he said. “I’ve never bowled there before, and it’ll be interesting to go up there tomorrow, but at the end of the day, a cricket wicket is a cricket wicket, you’ve got to land it in the right area whether it’s bouncy or slow and low.”That is the attribute that marked Finn out as the most reliable and aggressive bowling option on display at Lord’s. Where Anderson’s effectiveness seemed to be in direct correlation to the position of the sun – and there’ll be no place to hide in the midday heat at Adelaide – Finn kept his opponents on their toes in all conditions, and while he dismissed his two key breakthroughs on the fifth morning as “indifferent” balls, the drip-drip of pressure that he had already applied meant that Shakib Al Hasan and Junaid Siddique snatched at their offerings and gave their wickets away.For Andrew Strauss, who admitted he’d felt somewhat “rusty” in his first game for England since January, Finn’s excellence was as much of a relief as it was a delight, and he was happy to welcome the notion of taking such a player Down Under. “If you look at bowlers who take wickets in Australia, those kind of heavy hit-the-deck bowlers tend to do well,” he said. “Glenn McGrath had a reasonable career in Australia.”There’s a lot of water under the bridge to be had before then,” he added. “Hopefully we’ll have a full complement of bowlers to pick from, with the likes of Stuart Broad and Graham Onions to come back, and everyone will be jostling for position which is a healthy thing for the side. But he’s obviously got some great attributes, his height and a pretty clean action, and early in your career it’s fantastic to get wickets and show you belong at this level, which he has done.”In keeping with the tradition that Tamim Iqbal alluded to in century celebrations on Sunday, Finn had the pleasure of returning to the dressing-room to find his name already taped up on the board by the team physio, Kirk Russell. “He’d been nagging me all game,” said Finn. “Since I got four in the first innings and messed up a bit in the morning trying to take five yesterday, the physio has been down my earhole, saying ‘I want to see you on the board, I want to see you on the board’. So it was great to see my name up there, it’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was younger.”So too, presumably, is that starring role in an Ashes campaign, but right now, Finn is reluctant to let his thoughts drift too far from the present. “I’m not going to kid myself,” he said. “I’ve had fun in this Test match and I’m loving playing for my country at the moment, but it’ll be a lot of hard work for me, because there are guys to come back in who are ahead of me in the pecking order.”Fundamentally, it’s up to me to make it difficult for the selectors to drop me, whether I do that playing for England or through consistent performances for Middlesex throughout the season. If I keep taking wickets, my name will be there or thereabouts, but it’ll be a lot of hard work.”