Sharjah: Steven Finn made his case for inclusion in the England Test team with fine figures of 4 for 16 against Pakistan A here on Thursday, but afterwards sportingly said he would support the selectors even if he misses out.
Finn is in a battle with Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett for the final place in the pace attack alongside Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
“I will be surprised if I play the first Test, to be honest. I think the guys bowled really well the other day [in the first tour match] and I won’t be surprised if that is the team for the first Test,” he said.
“So I felt good for today, like I bowled well in the summer. I’m trying to keep that going and, if I am called upon at any stage, I am ready to go.
“If I felt threatening all day that is what you are asking from me. We have all worked hard in the nets trying to get the ball moving and trying to get the most out of the surfaces you can, and even reverse swing.
“We have to be quick to realise that and I thought that is something that we did well today.
“I feel Broad and Jimmy [Anderson] bowled well the other day and so did Woody. So I think it is not a bad dilemma to have for the selectors. Regardless of who gets picked, that is part of trying to build a strong unit. They need players who can go there and challenge in those sort of conditions and that is the way things go here.”
Finn also knows that, even if he is not considered for the first Test in Abu Dhabi next week, he may get to play in the three-Test series.
“I don’t think the same bowling unit is going to play all the way through the series because of the conditions and the wickets that we are playing on. If you don’t play the first Test, it is not the end of the world because there are two others in very quick succession to come,” he said.
“One of the challenges now experienced a lot in a tour like this is trying to make sure you are ready and fit to go in a Test match when called upon.
“You want to be challenged as much as you can, especially in such practice games so that you are not surprised when it comes to Test matches.”
Umar Amin, who joined Adnan Akmal for an 83-run partnership to lift Pakistan A out of trouble, said: “Overall the conditions were very tough as the ball was not coming on to the bat as one would expect on a Sharjah track. The outfield was also very slow, which obviously made it very difficult for the batsmen to get the runs going. England’s experienced bowling line-up also made it very tough for us to get the runs.”
Talking about Finn’s spell, Amin said: “Finn has been doing very well for England for the last two years and he has shown his form today. The way he bowled today, he was picking up wickets at the same time as keeping it very tight. It was very difficult to get him away.
Amin went on to hail Adnan’s knock of 74 not out. “It was an exceptional knock, keeping the conditions in mind. We needed a partnership and the rate at which he batted deserves all credit.”
When asked what was the plan during their partnership, Amin said: “It was very simple and that was to watch the ball and play the ball according to its merits because we had already lost six wickets with just 70 runs on the board. So we batted without worrying about the scoreboard and handled it ball by ball.”
