Steven Finn’s tour of South Africa has been ended by the side strain suffered during England’s victory in the third Test in Johannesburg, with his fellow fast bowler Liam Plunkett called up as a replacement for the upcoming limited overs series.
While Finn will miss Friday’s dead-rubber fourth Test at Centurion, as well as the five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s that follow, the England medical staff remain confident he can recover in time for the World Twenty20 in India that begins in March.
The 26-year-old Middlesex right-armer, who will stay in South Africa for a week to start his rehabilitation, impressed during the first three Tests against South Africa, claiming 11 wickets as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match remaining.
Taking to Twitter, Finn wrote: “Disappointed to be out of the rest of this South Africa tour. Have loved every minute. Bloomin’ injuries. Hopefully not too long out.”
Yorkshire’s Plunkett was a surprise omission from the squads originally named for the tour and will fly out directly to South Africa from Dubai, where he has been part of the England Lions set up before an upcoming one-day series with Pakistan A.
The 30-year-old, who last featured for England in their 3-0 Twenty20 series win over Pakistan before Christmas, took three for 29 during Saturday’s 50-over warm-up defeat to the United Arab Emirates at the ICC Academy.
“Cricket’s like that, isn’t it? You don’t know where you’re going to be next,” said Plunkett, who will play the first two one-dayers against Pakistan A this week before flying out to join the senior squad at the weekend. “I was disappointed not to be in the squad in the first place, but I came back here with the Lions determined to play to my best and show I’m still ready if they need me. Then obviously I’d seen Finny was injured so I did wonder, and I got the call from [selector] James Whitaker earlier.
“We’ve only played a warm-up game out here so far against the UAE but I felt in pretty good rhythm straight away and clicked it up to a decent pace. From the end of last season I’ve pretty much been bowling all the time, and I just had a few weeks off in December.
Disappointed to be out of the rest of this South Africa tour. Have loved every minute. Bloomin' injuries. Hopefully not too long out.
— Steven Finn (@finnysteve) January 18, 2016
“I’ve enjoyed my brief time with the Lions and hopefully I can play a part in getting this series off to a good start before going to South Africa.”
Plunkett’s call-up means Stuart Broad will be kept waiting for a one-day recall, despite having risen to No1 in the world Test bowling rankings for the first time in his career after his match-winning six-wicket haul at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Broad, England’s leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 international cricket and a veteran of 119 one-dayers, has not played white-ball cricket since the World Cup at the start of 2015 but is keen to be considered for selection and not be pigeonholed as a Test specialist.
