Steven Finn is set to learn whether his involvement in England’s tour of the United Arab Emirates will be ended early after injury ruled him out of first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
Finn, who had pressed his case for selection ahead of his fellow fast bowler Mark Wood with four wickets in the second warm-up match against Pakistan A in Sharjah last week, suffered pain in his left foot when bowling in the nets on Sunday.
A scan showed the 26-year-old Middlesex player has a stress injury in his first metatarsal – the early signs of a fracture – and he spent Monday watching England’s final training session wearing a protective boot and on crutches, unable to put weight on it.
While the medical staff will continue their assessment this week, Finn’s involvement in the remainder of the tour is in doubt, with the left foot bearing the bulk of the impact in a right-armer’s delivery stride and there being only four days between the first and second Tests and six between the second and third.
Four one-day matches and three Twenty20 games come after the Test series and England must decide if Finn has any chance of playing again in the UAE or whether the trip to South Africa in December represents a more realistic target. Mark Footitt, Chris Jordan or Chris Woakes is the likely replacement.
If Finn is ruled out here, it would be a cruel blow for a bowler who had returned to the side with devastating effect during the summer’s Ashes victory, taking eight wickets in his comeback Test at Edgbaston after 18 months of rebuilding his confidence with the ball.
“It’s a bitter blow for him, he bowled really well in that warm-up match,” said his captain, Alastair Cook, shortly after hearing Finn would miss the first Test at least. “He’s made huge strides back to where we would like him to be. We’ll monitor him and he could be right for the second Test but we will have to wait and see.”
Pakistan go into the first Test with an injury doubt of their own, with the leg-spinner Yasir Shah – tipped to be the standout bowler having taken 61 wickets in his first 10 Tests – suffering a back spasm during net session. A late decision will be made on his fitness, with the 20-year-old left-armer Zafar Gohar added to their squad as cover.
England have said Daniel Vettori will work with the spinners Zafar Ansari, Danny Briggs, Tom Westley and Stephen Parry as part of their winter performance programme in Dubai next month, making the former New Zealand left-armer the latest overseas consultant brought in under the director of cricket, Andrew Strauss.
Vettori’s recruitment on a short-term deal follows the use of the former Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene during the early stages of this tour as they look to mine his experience of batting for long periods in hot, spinning, subcontinent conditions.
Jayawardene, who leaves after the first Test, believes that bringing in experienced former players, irrespective of nationality, represents an investment. “We’ve spoken about a few techniques they can use that have helped me over the years,” said the 38-year-old. “It is hard to concentrate for long periods in these conditions; you need to preserve your energy so you can keep more in the tank for the latter part of the day. We have spoken about finding the tempo, keeping focus and not thinking too much – just live in a bubble.
“This England group is quite young and I see them having a 10-year span – that’s a good core group of guys you are working with. The more you invest in that, the better it is going to be for English cricket.”
