England quick's World T20 exclusion has him on a collision course with Sri Lanka's batsmen
Finn channeling frustrations into fire
A fit-again Steven Finn has found motivation through his World T20 exclusion as he prepares to face Sri Lanka in the first Test at Headingley from Thursday.
Finn was controversially replaced by Liam Plunkett in England's World T20 squad – which came within a whisker of winning the final – with a calf injury cited as the problem.
In an interview last month however, the England quick said he was left "frustrated" by the call from the medical staff.
Quick Single: Voges with eye on touring Lankans
"I would have been fit," he told ESPNCricinfo. "I told them I would have been fit.
"There wasn't actually much wrong with me. I was back up and running within a week of the calf injury but the decision was made quite quickly to pull me out of the squad.
"There were still 10 days before the squad left to go for India and I was pretty much bowling 100 per cent by the time the guys started the World Cup."
Returning to action with Middlesex from the beginning of the County Championship, Finn took 12 wickets in four matches and was duly selected for England's Test squad for the Leeds opener.
Speaking this week, the 27-year-old said what had happened with the World T20 situation had been dealt with, and he was intent on moving on.
Quick Single: Voges, Rogers impress in County action
"As a player you always back yourself to be fit and optimistic, especially when it comes to a world tournament, but the selectors and medical staff are experts," Finn said.
"You have to respect decisions and I was more vocal than I should have been.
"I've accepted what's happened and had conversations with good people."
Finn said the idea to channel that disappointment and frustration into a positive came from England's head coach, Trevor Bayliss.
"Trevor actually sent me an email, he said, 'Use your frustration as motivation to take wickets in the Test matches this summer', which I think was the perfect response to it," he explained.
"You can channel your frustration into the wrong avenues and it can affect you. If it's used in the right manner it can be a positive thing as well."
Quick Single: Cummins' potential 'frightening': Harris
The right-armer has taken 113 wickets at 28.34 in 29 Tests and is favoured to join Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the England attack, but he does face competition for his place in the form of Nottinghamshire's Jake Ball, the leading wicket-taker in division one of the County Championship with 19 at 21.15.
Ball is yet to play international cricket in any format but the 25-year-old has impressed this summer, particularly with a sizzling spell against Yorkshire in which he removed Adam Lyth and Joe Root for first-ball ducks.
Finn's record however, is likely to hold sway with the selectors, and he was a consistent performer in South Africa before suffering a side strain ahead of the fourth Test.
"It's a big summer for me to try and cement that spot in the team but it's something that I'm not putting too much pressure on myself," he added.
"If you put pressure on yourself it won't come. If I relax, play with a smile on my face and let the ball do the talking, it will look after itself."