STEVEN FINN admits any school report on his first season for Middlesex last year would have read 'must do better'.
So imagine his surprise when he was called up last week by the MCC for the traditional curtain-raiser against county champions Durham, which starts at Lord's today (Thursday).
The Panthers paceman was quietly going through pre-season training with team-mates at Shenley, when he got the text from National Academy Director David Parsons to join a squad that includes former skipper Michael Vaughan and five other full internationals.
It's a real shot in the arm for the former England U19 player, who took just 25 wickets at more than 40 runs apiece in county cricket in 2008.
Compare that to the previous summer, when he took 15 wickets in four Tests and a stack of one-day scalps for England U19s.
But Finn refused to get carried away with his unexpected opportunity.
He said: "The call-up was a big surprise to me, especially as last season didn't go as well as I hoped.
"I was disappointed with last season, where I didn't live up to all the hype surrounding me because of my wickets for the U19s the previous year.
"So it's nice to know I've got the opportunity to perform in front of the national selectors.
"But I don't see it as necessarily an indication I'm in the fold for an England call-up, so it's important I don't get too far ahead of myself.
I feel I need to get a lot of wickets for Middlesex before I can even be selected for the England Lions (England A)."
Meanwhile, Owais Shah, Eoin Morgan and Middlesex skipper Shaun Udal were all named in the provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament to be held in England from June 1.
