STEVEN Finn has suffered rough treatment from the hands of the England selectors according to Tim Murtagh.
Finn has not featured in the current Ashes series since being axed from the final XI at Lord’s last month and the pace-man will again be left kicking his heels when the fourth Test gets underway at Chester-Le-Street tomorrow.
While his good friend and new-ball partner with the Lord’s tenants Murtagh admits there is an upside to the 24-year-old’s fall from favour where Middlesex are concerned he hinted Finn deserved better.
And with the 90 miles an hour plus pace-man set to be available for at least some of Middlesex’s County Championship title push, Murtagh warned opposition counties to prepare for a backlash.
He said: “I would like Finny to be playing for England and most people would I think, though there will be some Middlesex fans who obviously want him to be playing for us.
“It has been hard on him being dropped and on a personal note I think he has been treated quite harshly, so an angry Steven Finn coming back and playing for us is never going to be a bad thing for Middlesex.”
With Finn centrally contracted by the ECB it remains to be seen whether he is given permission to play any part in a trio of crucial YB40 matches for the county over the next week, beginning with The Unicorns at Lord’s on Sunday.
If not he should be fresh to run in during the Seaxes next County Championship clash away to relegation-haunted Derbyshire, starting on August 20.
