Young English pace bowler, Steve Finn, hopes he would find a place in the Test team for the series against Sri Lanka. The two teams would be locked in a three Test match series and Finn, who is representing the England Lions in a practice match ahead of the series, is vary of the fact that his place is not guaranteed for the first Test after he was left out of the last two Tests against Australia last year.
Finn, who won the ICC award for Emerging Player last year, has gone down the pecking order since the Ashes series. He impressed in patches in the practice matches, yet is aware that he might have to work harder if he is to regain his place in the team.
"There are guys who performed very well in Australia and people who've done very well in domestic cricket this season and have been taking wickets," he said. "I'm open to criticism, and I didn't bowl as well as I should or could have done in Australia”. Finn told media after the day’s play at Derby.
On the other hand the Sri Lankan camp was relieved after they saved the prospects of an innings defeat through fighting hundreds by Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana. The two helped the team get past a potentially tricky period before they settled in a big partnership.
Later the coach of the tourists’ former Australian batsman, Stuart Law, stated that his team has shown great resilience to fight back in the match he was particularly impressed by the innings by Paranavitana who was the ideal foil to Dilshan.
"We applied ourselves a lot better today," Stuart Law, Sri Lanka's coach, said. "I think we learnt from the first innings. These are very different conditions from where the boys have come from. The ball has swung, there has been a bit of pace and bounce in the pitch and the England guys have bowled very well."
Law believes that the left-handed Paranavitana, who started his test career two years ago against Pakistan in Karachi, has the potential to become a big star in the years ahead. He thinks that he can play a vital role in the Test series.
Meanwhile the two teams are building towards the first Test which would start a mouthwatering English international summer. The series would be followed by the tour of India. The battle between England and India is set to decide the best test Team in the world.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and England would start on the May 26, at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
0 comments:
Post a Comment