ZCZC ANI (Sports/Cricket)

England fast Finn ordered to get rid of habit of kicking the stumps ahead of upcoming Ashes

Steven Finn, Twenty20, New Zealand, Ashes

London, Feb 12 (ANI): England fast bowler Steven Finn has been warned to get rid of his habit of knocking the stumps over with his knee by umpires in the Twenty20 series against New Zealand, so that he is better prepared ahead of the upcoming Ashes.

According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Finn has been marked as a serial offender because his action of repeatedly striking of the stumps has proven to be problematic for the opposing batsmen, the Telegraph reports.

Finn, who has become integral to England in all three forms of the game, said that he has been practicing hard to remove his habit, which is important because it had cost him two international wickets.

So far, this unusual quirk to his action has cost him the wickets of Graeme Smith in the Headingley Test last year and Suresh Raina in a recent one-day match in India.

According to the paper, Englands bowling coach David Saker has been working with Finn to accelerate and power through the last five yards of his run-up and to jump straighter on delivery.

Sympathising with Finns predicament ,fellow fast bowler Ian Butler said that a match should not stop if Finn accidentally hits the stumps and takes a wicket, and added that Graeme Smith magnified the matter to shake up Finn.

Apart from being a gangling 6ft 8in, with long, loose limbs to control, one of the reasons behind Finns habit is that he decelerates at the end of his lengthy run-up, causinghis feet to cross over slightly in their stride pattern.

This results in him wobbling, leading his right knee to flick out when he hits the crease. (ANI)

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telegraph

New Zealand v England: fast bowler Steven Finn works on ending costly habit of kicking the stumps in Hamilton Steven Finn has become integral to England in all three forms of the game but his habit of knocking the stumps over with his knee has cost him wickets, a frustration that will be doubly annoying if it happens during this summers Ashes.

Dummy run: Steven Finn working on his run-up and action in New Zealand Finn did it again the other night during Englands Twenty20 victory in Auckland, though no action was taken. The umpires here have told him he gets the first transgression of the series for free but thereafter any stump rattling with his knee will be called dead ball. The same convention will apply in the 50-over series, but as Finn has admitted, it would be easier for all concerned if he kicked the habit rather than the stumps. So far, this unusual quirk to his action has cost him the wickets of Graeme Smith in the Headingley Test last year and Suresh Raina in a recent one-day match in India. On both occasions England lost a match that might well have turned out differently had Finn not broken the stumps. The International Cricket Council has instructed umpires to take this hard line because Finn is seen as a serial offender, and because it regards repeated striking of the stumps as off-putting for batsmen.

If few of crickets mandarins have sympathy for Finns predicament someone who does is Ian Butler, a fellow fast bowler who is back in the New Zealand fold after a three-year hiatus. Play should just continue if he hits the stumps and if he happens to take a wicket it should stand, but Im not a rule maker, said Butler, who is fit after injuring an ankle against England in Whangarei. I know Graeme Smith made a big issue of it, but that was more to get under Finns skin. It certainly doesnt distract the batter. Getting bowlers to change their actions is more difficult than getting people to change their bank accounts. The most obvious solution, and the simplest, would be for Finn to bowl wider on the crease, but he feels the extra angle would cost him lbws. Bowlers breaking the stumps is rare and most who transgress knock the bails off with their bowling arm, not their knee. The perception from watching Finn is that he does it at least twice a match, which is more than any other bowler in history. Apart from being a gangling 6ft 8in, with long, loose limbs to control, one of the reasons behind it is that Finn decelerates at the end of his lengthy run-up. That causes his feet to cross over slightly in their stride pattern, which causes him to him wobble and his right knee to flick out when he hits the crease. David Saker, Englands bowling coach, has got him to try to accelerate and power through the last five yards of his run-up and to jump straighter on delivery. Ideally, Finn would also be better off cutting his run down but it is a work in progress. Im getting there, Finn said. Im not doing it as often as I was. Its only a matter of time before I crack it. Its cost me two international wickets so far and that hurts.