Robinson, Atkinson, and Tongue must drive England’s new-era pace attack, says Steven Finn
New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Former England pacer Steven Finn believes that the focus on England’s batting changes has overshadowed the bowlers, who will be under scrutiny as the English team takes on New Zealand at Lord’s on Thursday to begin the home summer season.
In a column for the BBC, Finn expressed that England is undergoing a period of rebuilding following their Ashes failures and that the nation will need to develop a new identity as a pace bowling side, due to the retirement of a few established bowlers.
“With several established stars leaving and a number of players coming in, England is heading into a transitional period following their Ashes downfall, and questions are being raised over their pace bowling capability ahead of a crucial summer,” Finn stated.
Comparing the situation to the devastating 5-0 Ashes defeat suffered by England in Australia in 2013/14, Finn noted that the Ashes loss had caused a shake-up of England’s side.
“After losing 5-0 in Australia in 2013/14, I, as well as the rest of that team that went down to Mitchell Johnson and co, was sent home with our tails between our legs,” Finn said. “It was the end of the road for that team as we knew it; a huge shift was required.”
Although a complete overhaul isn’t likely, Finn revealed that Zak Crawley’s absence from the Test side has been the biggest consequence of England’s poor Ashes performance.
“Zak Crawley is the most high-profile casualty,” Finn observed. “He has obviously got the skills to be a successful international player, but I don’t know whether he might have to come in at No. 3 or No. 4 to make the best use of the raw materials and potential that is obvious in his game.”
Questioning the choice to select a 15-man squad with eight fast bowling options for the first Test, Finn commented that a squad size like this may be an indication of a lack of direction.
“It has not been confirmed with me which conversations have taken place, so I do not have insight into what England may be thinking, but selecting eight fast bowlers is indicative of something else happening in the background,” Finn wrote.
When discussing England’s ideal pace bowling attack, Finn suggested a blend of an attack leader, a supporting fast bowler, and an X-factor wicket-taker alongside captain Ben Stokes. With Ollie Robinson recalled to the England side, Finn believes he has been chosen to be the leader of the pack.
“He’s been recalled to lead the pack, and with good reason,” Finn explained. “The skills to do the job have always been obvious – anyone who averages 22.92 with the ball in Test cricket has the technique to be very effective, but more so, the discipline and application to be selected for that role.”
“A key factor to being selected as attack leader is the ability to affect what is happening around you, as the player the rest of the attack are looking towards for inspiration when the pressure is applied to both you and them with the ball in hand and the state of your body language,” he stated.
Although Robinson has been out with injury and has played just one Test in more than a year, Finn believes he is ready for his latest chance. “He needs to show restraint when dealing with the opposition batsmen and not get dragged into it more than is necessary, and he needs to be able to be on the field for five days. If Robinson can execute those two things, I believe he is the leading candidate in England to be the attack leader and put his imprint on this English bowling unit,” Finn concluded.
For the supporting fast bowler role, Finn has chosen Gus Atkinson to complement Robinson, and his control, pace, and height are perfect qualities to have in the side. “The Surrey man is more reserved in nature,” Finn wrote. “He’s an assassin rather than a warrior; the way he uses his height, controls his pace, and length has made him a very strong option.”
For the X-factor, Finn backed Josh Tongue, whose hostile bowling earned him a spot in the Ashes side. “Josh Tongue certainly stood himself up as a nailed-on starter in the Ashes Tests he played in,” Finn stated. “His hostility and the speed he picked up while being able to trouble any opposition batsmen.”
“His ability to hit an awkward length from an angle behind the perpendicular has created a lot of doubt from opposition batsmen and has made it particularly challenging for them,” Finn concluded.
Expressing surprise at Tongue being left out of the first Ashes Test in Perth, Finn believes this opportunity would put him on track to become a regular in England’s top Test XI.
Although both Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer were excluded from England’s squad, Finn insists Archer remains England’s best fast bowler when fit.
“With both Brydon Carse and Archer absent from the squad, England’s pace attack looks weaker for them now. Archer can certainly return to fill either position or any gap that arises with his ability to swing the ball and bowl pace,” Finn stated.
Ultimately, Finn believes that the new-look pace bowling attack will need to quickly establish itself for England to achieve victory in the summer. “This is the first home summer since 2007 where we’ve not had all of Jimmy Anderson, Broad and Woakes out there together, and with the absence of the injured Mark Wood, this represents the loss of over 1,600 Test wickets of some of the greatest fast bowlers in English cricket,” Finn said.
“While chasing results post-Ashes, England will be aiming for the new engine room of their pace bowling to make sure they maintain standards and achieve their objectives,” he added.
–IANS
hs/bsk/
