You'll not see nothing like the mighty Finn...

Steven Finn began his England career back in March of 2010 at Chittagong, taking a wicket in each innings on his way to match figures of 2-97 against lowly Bangladesh; an unobtrusive international bow by any strike bowlers standards.

As a tall, rangy fast-medium seamer clocking speeds in the mid-eighties the Middlesex youngster didn’t prove much of a revelation for an English cricketing nation that was on the lookout for their next serial speedster. Despite his rather more impressive returns in two home Test matches against the same opponents of 15 wickets at an average of 17.87, Finn remained a raw talent with wicket taking ability but a tendency to lack control.

In the aftermath of those series, opinion on Finn was split. A genuine wicket taker that is worth the additional runs he would concede, proclaimed some; a tad too expensive for Test cricket, contended others.

Steven Finn - The real deal?

England's selectors, it transpires, sided with the others. Nevertheless, no secret was made of the faith that was held in the promise of this 6ft 7” seamer, and the precautionary measure of safeguarding an earmarked future star against the type of stress injuries that so often plague a young body put through the rigours of fast bowling was henceforth adopted.

Off Finn went, tasked with undertaking a strength and conditioning programme made to measure by England's fitness gurus, and as a result being declared unavailable for upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh and Australia, just as it seemed he might be finding his size 12 feet on the international stage.

When questioned as to the benefits of such a programme, Finn responded saying “it makes you more robust.” Cue jokes from England’s inexorable jester, Graeme Swann, leading to the off-spinner even holding a Twitter competition for his followers entitled ‘what is Steven Finn as robust as?’ Rather amusingly, the winner’s entry answered ‘relatively robust compared to Humpty Dumpty in a mosh pit.’

Jokes and criticism of his removal from the front line aside, however, Finn was soon to show that this was no yarn, with the discernible change in pace and accuracy wrought since undergoing the strength and conditioning regime proving nothing short of remarkable.  Accuracy, it can be argued, comes with experience and endless practice, but to have reached a point where speeds of 95mph have been recorded from his bowling fully vindicates the decision made by England’s management.

Following England’s resounding clattering of India in the late English summer of 2011, a Test series where he was overlooked in favour of Tim Bresnan, Finn might have been forgiven for wondering when his next opportunity in an England shirt would materialise. He wasn’t to wait long however; with James Anderson being rested for the subsequent ODI tour of India Finn played in all five defeats in what was a disastrous series for the tourists.

Ironically, it was that very trouncing by the world's then number one ODI side that was arguably the announcement of Finn’s true arrival on the world stage. Emphatically waving goodbye to the fast-medium mediocrity with too many a ‘four-ball’ thrown in, the reinvented Finn bowled with express pace, hostility and consistency on batsmen friendly pitches, ultimately leaving India as perhaps the one England player to emerge with their reputation enhanced.

Finn’s latest act of speed induced carnage saw Pakistan on the receiving end this afternoon, blowing away their top order and almost single-handedly reducing their run chase to mere rubble in the Abu Dhabi desert, on his way to career best ODI figures of 4-34 as England romped home to a resounding 130 run win.

A true measure of Steven Finn’s progress will ultimately be taken inside the Test arena, as and when his next call arrives. After acquiring a pronounced deal of control to compliment his new found wheels, such an opportunity should not be long in coming, and the addition of a genuinely fast bowler to the already sublime England bowling ranks will not be welcomed by their rivals, one would imagine.

English fans have heard a fair bit of noise from their Australian adversaries of late regarding their own young speedsters in Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, but based on recent performances England have a future superstar to match them all in the mighty Finn.

Why is the 'doosra' a wrong'un for English off-spinners?

With the horror of England's Abu Dhabi capitulation finally beginning to subside, a far healthier appreciation of just how impressive a display of spin bowling from both sides was afforded to the spectators has taken precedence.

It is difficult to be critical of England's spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, even in contrast to their Pakistani opposite numbers who, lest we forget, took 19 of the 20 England wickets that fell in Abu Dhabi.

Swann and Panesar bowled quite beautifully in restricting Pakistan to two sub-par, and what should have been losing totals, exercising exquisite control coupled with not inconsiderable purchase from a helpful if not raging turner of a pitch.

Saqlain Mushtaq - inventor of the doosra

In reply, the two frontline spinners of Pakistan - Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman - wove their own web of cunning and deceit, leaving England's esteemed batsmen looking little more dangerous than the proverbial trapped fly.

Chasing small fourth innings totals is often a case of mind over matter. In this instance, it is perhaps fair to deduce that the trickery of Ajmal in particular played a key subliminal role in laying waste to the English batting order. In fact, such uncertainty can probably be narrowed down to just one delivery; the 'doosra'.

The term doosra translates to "(the) second (one)" or "(the) other (one)" in Urdu; one of crickets more mysterious deliveries reportedly invented by former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. A delivery that turns the opposite way to a conventional off-break, it is a formidable weapon within the arsenal of the modern off-spinner.

Why, then, is so little seen of this mystery delivery outside of the sub-continent?

Cricketing law states that a bowlers arm must not straighten beyond 15 degrees when bowling a delivery, a revision made in 2005 to replace the previous limit of 5 degrees which effectively outlawed the doosra in its entirety. Nevertheless, many an attempted purveyor of this enigmatic delivery has still fallen by the wayside; their actions called in to question and reputations left in tatters.

The list of those whose action has been referred to the International Cricket Council by on-field umpires is extensive. Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan, Harbhajan Singh of India and Johan Botha of South Africa have all had accusations of 'chucking' their doosra levelled at them. Whilst Muralitharan and Ajmal have been cleared to continue bowling the delivery, the others have effectively been forbidden in its use.

Such controversy over this one delivery has led to the word doosra becoming almost taboo in many cricketing nations. Australia, for example, chose to ban the teaching of the doosra in 2009, with a summit held by Cricket Australia declaring that the delivery simply cannot be bowled legally. England has its own issues with the doosra. As recently as 2011 Maurice Holmes, a young off-spin bowler on the books of Warwickshire CCC, was suspended by the ECB after umpires reported a suspect action when Holmes utilised his own doosra. Despite weeks of remedial work leading to his action being cleared, Holmes was released by Warwickshire.

Holmes, during a recent interview with The Telegraph, says that despite his own struggles and controversy surrounding the legality of his action, he is of the belief that more English off-spinners should be encouraged and taught to bowl the doosra. “There are a lot of similar bowlers around the world and I don’t think that it should be discouraged,” says Holmes. “The doosra is a growing part of the game but I’m a rarity in England. As far as I am aware I am the only English bowler who bowls it.”

Former England off-spinner Peter Such is one advocate of incorporating the doosra in to the English game. “If someone wants to bowl the doosra you work with them,” says Such. “It’s an easy thing to coach but they have to be aware of the parameters of flex and straightening of the elbow that are permitted and they have to work within that.

It should be of little surprise that English batsmen struggle when confronted with this mystery delivery, then, given the paucity with which it is encountered at a domestic level. Former Warwickshire all-rounder Alex Loudon bowled his own version of the doosra with a less conventional but legal action, but retired somewhat prematurely to pursue other business interests.

Given Saeed Ajmal's recent torment of England’s batsmen, there is a possibility it will cause a re-think amongst the hierarchy of the ECB as far as the coaching of the doosra goes in England. Certainly, it would be a more than valuable addition to the repertoire of deliveries possessed by England's own off-break bowlers, but perhaps of greater importance is that it could go some way toward ensuring their batsmen don't read this delivery in the same manner they would a badly translated Mandarin Shakespeare script.

The doosra should no longer be deemed a wrong’un in English cricket.

Pakistan v England 2nd Test Preview - Abu Dhabi

England's cricketers returned to training yesterday for an unscheduled session in Abu Dhabi, on what should have been the fifth and final day of the first Test in Dubai. The mystery spin of Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal and the renewed struggles of English batsmen on Asian pitches had put paid to any possibility of that a whole two days prior as Pakistan romped to a ten wicket win, and many reports are suggesting that the England coaching staff wasted no time in putting their charges through a rigorous session. Not so much as punishment to the players, but as a sharp reminder that they are here to win Test matches, sustain their world number one ranking and that a Test series win in Asian conditions is perhaps the one obstacle separating this side from English cricketing immortality.

Of course, to do so, England know that their batting simply has to stand up better to Pakistan's trio of spin bowlers. Of the 20 England wickets taken in the first Test at Dubai, all but five fell to spin, with Jonathan Trott the sole England batsman to be removed by pace in both innings.

Merlyn - can it imitate Ajmal?

Enter 'Merlyn'. This infamous machine, capable of bowling a variety of spinning deliveries to batsmen in the nets, was initially designed to combat the genius of a certain SK Warne during the 2005 Ashes series in England. Now, England have shipped it out to Abu Dhabi, where hours of practice will no doubt be endured by England's top order in preparation for round two with Saeed Ajmal when hostilities resume this coming Wednesday. England, as you probably know, went on to win that historic series in 2005, but whether Merlyn can provide the same effect this time around remains to be seen. One thing is for sure; England will be hard pressed to perform any more incompetently against Pakistan's spinners than they did in Dubai.

There is however one key difference between the use of Merlyn in this current series and the Ashes series of 2005; Warne extracted prodigious turn from almost any wicket he played on, whereas Ajmal actually turns the ball very little. It would appear, then, that the deceit lies in the flight of the ball after leaving the hand. How much Merlyn can hope to replicate that remains to be seen, but I'd suggest that it may prove rather difficult, and thus allow Ajmal to keep his title of 'mystery spinner' intact.

Many of England's spin induced batting problems in Dubai stemmed from their apparent tendency to get caught in two minds. The indecision as to whether to play forward or back to Ajmal's deliveries invariably resulted in many of the batsmen, perhaps Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott aside, to play almost half-forward, tentative strokes that left them more than susceptible to the doosra. In Abu Dhabi, a greater degree of conviction is no doubt required. England's number nine batsman, Graeme Swann, highlighted this particular necessity when playing authoritatively against Ajmal in each of his innings, and with far greater success than many of the illustrious batsmen above him. Pakistan and Ajmal, it would seem, don't like being attacked; a handful of aggressive shots from Swann saw the field drop back and the threat posed by Pakistan's man of the moment significantly reduced. Calculated risk may just be the order of the day for England's top order batsmen; allowing Ajmal to bowl at them simply won't do.

Not a huge amount is known about the nature of the pitch in Abu Dhabi, though there has been plenty of talk suggesting it to be even flatter than the batsman's paradise of Dubai. Make no bones about it, England's batsmen had no business being bundled out for two vastly sub-par totals in Dubai, and any hint of complacency should now have been well and truly banished. What they must contend with now, however, is the added pressure to post a big first innings total under the scrutiny of the cricketing world, and to prove that they do indeed belong at the summit of the ICC Test rankings. As for England's bowlers, more of the same is required. To remove Pakistan for a still below par 338 was a more than acceptable effort given the nature of the pitch, and the bowling unit should carry none of the demons that their batting counterparts can expect to have with them.

As for selection, one would have to imagine that Pakistan will stay unchanged after the emphatic nature of their victory in Dubai. For England, there are calls typically ranging from the wholesale replacement of the batting line-up, captain and coaching staff to the suggestion that Monty Panesar might be an effective pick. Under the guidance of Team Director Andy Flower, consistency has been the key word, and to envisage any more than perhaps one change is rather optimistic. There would appear to be two viable options, both involving the replacement of Chris Tremlett. One would be to replace the economic but ineffective Tremlett with Panesar, which at this point is probably the most likely change, with a further option being to introduce the additional pace of Steven Finn to the attack in place of Tremlett in an attempt to take the benign pitch out of the equation somewhat. England, as is their wont, will keep their cards close to their chests until the day of the match when conditions have been thoroughly assessed.

This series has just got all the more interesting, and England's first real test as the number one ranked side in world cricket is well and truly upon them. All eyes are on their batsmen, and you simply have to imagine that they will make a better fist of things this time around. Have they learnt from their mistakes in Dubai? Will Merlyn have had an effect, or will the mystery spin of Saeed Ajmal continue to leave them bamboozled? It is all very intriguing and makes for a great spectacle, but my official prediction for the second Test in Abu Dhabi is: Draw.