England's Steven Finn relishes the challenge others shirk

Steven Finn jokes when asked about his sole Test appearance for England in 2011 that he spent more time in his car, commuting from Test ground to county ground after missing out on national selection, than he did on the international cricket field.

The clocking up of miles will have given his parents, Diane and Terry, cause for angst when you consider the towering fast bowler crashed his sponsored Jaguar in his hometown, scraped the kerb, according to a former teacher, when he once picked up his sister from school and was apparently stopped by the police as the 22 year old looked too young to be driving such a high-performance car.

Finn also laughs at how he has become an expert in carrying the drinks as part of his 12th-man duties. It is a surprise, given how he is often the butt of his teammates' banter, he has not been nicknamed Didier Deschamps, the French World Cup winner hailed as "the water carrier".

Finn will probably not need to carve out a career as a driving instructor or a waiter as he is becoming a master of bowling in conditions in Asia.

Pace bowling on unresponsive pitches in the subcontinent is back-breaking work and some of the surfaces could easily double up as a bowlers' graveyard.

Finn relishes the challenge others shirk.

Perhaps it can be attributed to his youthful enthusiasm or the fact his appearances in Bangladesh, India and UAE have provided him with the stage to prove a point or because he is a mighty fine bowler.

Whatever the reason, he should have played in the Test series against Pakistan.

kaffleck@thenational.ae