Three-time Ashes winner Steven Finn has announced his immediate playing retirement aged 34 as he “admitted defeat” in a long-running battle against various injuries.
Finn took 125 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of 30.4 between 2010 and 2016 for England, but he had drifted out of contention a while ago and has played no first-class cricket since July last year.
He ended a long association with Middlesex to sign for Sussex last summer, but a setback in his attempt to recover from a long-running knee problem has seen him bring his 18-year career to a conclusion.
He said: “I have been fighting a battle with my body for the last 12 months and have admitted defeat to it.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to play cricket as my vocation since I made my debut for Middlesex in 2005. The journey hasn’t always been smooth, but I have loved it nonetheless.
“I retire with some amazing memories with England, Middlesex and Sussex, shared with fantastic people. Those will live with me forever.
“Cricket has given me a lot and I hope to give back to the game in some capacity in the future. But, for now, I’ll enjoy watching on without wondering whether my body will be able to make it through another day’s cricket.”
Finn took 129 wickets in 90 white-ball appearances for England and helped Middlesex to the County Championship title in 2016.
He became the club’s youngest first-class debutant aged 16 and made his England bow five years later during a winter tour of Bangladesh, while he was an ever-present in the 2010 Test home summer programme.
Finn was England’s leading wicket-taker after three Tests in their seminal 2010-11 Ashes triumph in Australia but was unceremoniously dropped for the Melbourne and Sydney triumphs because of his economy rate, while he featured just once when they retained the urn in the summer of 2013.
He was labelled “not selectable” by then England white-ball coach Ashley Giles a few months later back in Australia, with Finn later admitting he had been set back a couple of years by having to change his technique in 2012 because he kept knocking the bails off at the non-striker’s end with his knee in his delivery stride.
This habit led to complaints from the touring South Africa batters and the International Cricket Council stepped in, deeming it a no-ball – commonly known as ‘Finn’s Law’, with the seamer having to alter his run-up to correct the problem.
Finn returned to the set-up in the 2015 Ashes, with the series level at 1-1, and produced career-best figures of six for 79 at Edgbaston as England went on to claim a 3-2 victory.
Finn took 11 wickets in three Tests during the successful tour to South Africa in 2015-16 while he claimed 31 dismissals in eight matches to end Middlesex’s 23-year wait for the championship crown.
He made his final Test appearance in Dhaka in October 2016 as injuries went on to take their toll, with Finn sliding down the pecking order for both England and Middlesex before joining Sussex last year.
He took 21 wickets in 19 appearances for the south coast club in 2022 and finishes with a total of 947 scalps in 453 matches.
Finn added: “To have played 125 games for England, including 36 Tests, far surpassed what I dreamed of.
“I want to thank Sussex Cricket for their support over the last 12 months especially and for welcoming me wholeheartedly into the club at the beginning of last season.
“It really is a great place to play cricket and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to play more of a part on the field since joining the club.”
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “Steven has been a fantastic bowler for Middlesex, Sussex and England.
“Over the next few weeks and months, I’m sure he will look back on his career with great pride and reflect on his huge contribution to the game.
“At this time there is huge disappointment that he can’t continue his career having worked so hard to get back to full fitness.”
Windies to test T20 World Cup readiness against South Africa, Australia in Jamaica and T&T; final squad to be named this week
With the ICC Men’s Twenty 20 World Cup now just about a month away, Darren Sammy and his West Indies team will up the tempo on preparations, before testing their readiness for the June 1-29 global showpiece, with a final warm-up match against Australia in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.
The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.
Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.
From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.
“We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.
“That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.
West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.
Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.
“Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.
Archer included in England's T20 World Cup squad
Jofra Archer has been recalled to England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States this June.
The 29-year-old, who has not played competitive cricket since May due to a long-term elbow injury, could make his first appearance for the international team since a tour of Bangladesh in March 2023.
Archer has been limited to just 15 T20Is since his England debut in 2019 and missed their 2022 World Cup success in Australia due to the same injury.
There is a recall for fellow fast-bowler Chris Jordan, who last played for England against New Zealand in September 2023, at the expense of Chris Woakes.
Uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, is also named in Jos Buttler’s 15-man squad, which includes nine players from the 2022 World Cup.
England will play a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at Headingley in May before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on 4 June.
England’s provisional squad:
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, To Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
IPL: Salt stars as KKR get back to winning ways
Phil Salt inspired Kolkata Knight Riders to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League as they beat Delhi Capitals with an emphatic seven-wicket victory.
The Capitals had surpassed 220 runs in each of their last two matches, but their chances of doing so again were dented early on, Prithvi Shaw walking for 13 before the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk followed before the end of the third over, his flat drive being taken by Venkatesh Iyer near the boundary for 12.
Varun Chakaravarthy posted figures of 3-16 as Kolkata prevented their visitors from mounting any kind of response, with only Kuldeep Yadav's unbeaten 35 off 26 balls helping them crawl beyond the 150 mark and finish their innings on 153-9.
Salt started brilliantly for Kolkata, plundering his way to a half-century within the first six overs of the chase. He was bowled by Axar Patel, but only after the openers had raced to 79-0, with Sunil Narine and Rinku Singh dismissed shortly after.
Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer ticked off the remaining runs with ease, securing the win for Kolkata with 21 balls left.
Data Debrief: A sprinkle of Salt
England all-rounder Will Jacks smashed an unbeaten century off just 41 balls to propel Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory over Gujarat Titans on Sunday, and his compatriot Salt followed up with a stunning knock this time around.
He reached 52 in just 26 balls, with a further two boundaries taking him to 60 and seeing Kolkata reach 79 by the end of the powerplay. His knock included seven fours and five sixes.
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