If Chris Tremlett is unfit, it makes greater sense for England to play Steve Finn
Finn should play if Tremlett is unfit
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
Chris Tremlett is doubtful for the Trent Bridge Test match against India after being down with a hamstring injury. If Tremlett doesn’t play in the second Test, India would be breathing easier as he really troubled their batsmen at Lord’s. His return from the Test match does not indicate the level of discomfort he caused to the Indian batsmen with steep bounce that he generated from his advantageous six feet, seven-inch height.
The last time India were at Trent Bridge, in the year 2007, they were able to secure a famous win – courtesy a brilliant spell by Zaheer Khan. Although India emerged victorious there was nothing one could take away from the English bowlers. Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Tremlett, in particular, had bowled really well, but luck wasn’t on their side as their efforts couldn’t change the ultimate result. Tremlett had picked up six wickets in the match – three in each innings. Similar to the recently-concluded Lord’s Test, he troubled the Indian batsmen with his bounce.
India needed just 73 runs in their second innings to win the match, a target that was always going to be achieved. However, along the way they lost three wickets, all of them victims of the Tremlett’s disconcerting bounce. When you have to defend a small total, the bowlers may just go through the motions, but here was a man playing his first Test series who was giving his everything to make life difficult for a very strong batting line-up. At Lord’s last week, he did a similar thing, without getting the fruits of his perseverance.
If Tremlett is ruled out, Tim Bresnan will in all probability replace him. Bresnan is the 12th member of the squad and is a fast bowler who can bat well. If he takes his batting more seriously he can stake a claim for promotion up the order and it would allow England to field a total of five bowlers. However, if Tremlett isn’t fit it would make more sense in playing Steve Finn. And England have done a very good thing by calling Finn as a cover, as it gives them more options.
Bresnan is a good bowler, but keeping in mind the make-up of the England team, he makes a good replacement for somebody like Stuart Broad. Bresnan is a very different bowler when compared to Tremlett. He has pace and gets good swing and bowls on a full length, but Tremlett relies on bounce and bowls shorter. It is Tremlett’s ability to extract bounce which has caused Indian batsmen problems not just in the first Test of this series but also the last time the two teams met at Trent Bridge. Therefore, it makes sense to play Finn instead of Bresnan simply because he is similar to Tremlett.
Steven Finn is as tall as Tremlett and is almost similar to him when it comes to bowling. Like Tremlett, Finn relies on bounce to take wickets. Since his Test debut, he has been very impressive – 50 wickets in 12 matches. If Tremlett has caused a few worries in the Indian camp, Finn too can do the same. It is clear that the Indian batsmen do not enjoy playing bounce and Andrew Strauss would know that he needs to use that in his favor. If England decide to play Bresnan, India would not have to worry about bounce but would have to concentrate on playing swing. However, if Finn plays, India would be more cautious and it may work in England’s favour.
If Tremlett is ruled out of the second Test, the Indian batsmen will breathe a sigh of relief. At Lord’s they had to counter his bounce at one end and at the other end they had to deal with James Anderson and Broad who mainly relied on swing. Things may be a bit different in Nottingham if Bresnan plays. But England should try to create an atmosphere where India doesn’t feel comfortable. For that they need to play Finn as he can extract bounce and probably create a Tremlett effect.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)