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Steven Finn has drawn a lot of attention with his prodigious pace and bounce, but the 21 year-old seamer idolises bowlers of a different ilk, who made their mark with accuracy and persistence.”I have my idols, people like Glenn McGrath who was a fantastic bowler, best bowler in my opinion who has ever played the game,” Finn told reporters at Lord’s. “It would be nice to play in the sort of environment he was playing in a few years ago and see how I can do.”While he watched McGrath from afar, he learnt the ropes from another equally worthy proponent of seam and swing. Finn is filled with gratitude for the role Angus Fraser has played in his development.”Angus Fraser who has been a very big help, is a great believer in just bowling, bowling and bowling. That will get you fit and that will teach you how to bowl. I believe in that too.”At the moment I am still learning about my game. I’ve spoken a lot to to Gus about this. I don’t want to be like anyone else, I want to be Steven Finn,” he said.The 6′ 7″ fast bowler, who made a surprise debut during the Bangladesh tour earlier this year, is already developing the sort of miserliness that defined his heroes in their pomp.”Gus has brought discipline, an analytical approach to the way I bowl. There’s a lot more thought process that goes in to what I do, the working out of batsmen, the way it really hurts me when I give away runs.”I hate it, just as much as Gus did. He would stand there swearing, punching himself. He’s helped bring in to my game a lot more discipline and I think that’s important I carry that into any sort of cricket I play,” Finn said.While early signs suggest that Finn has the pace to hustle top-notch batsmen, the bowler himself is not getting carried away. “It would be nice to have a lot of pace and be able to control it. That’s the ideal fast bowler. At the moment, I am somewhere in between the two. By no means am I the finished article,” he said.Despite the prospects of featuring in the Ashes defence later in the year, Finn is firmly grounded in the present and wants to enjoy the moment. “I wasn’t expecting this 18 months ago or even six months ago. I wasn’t expecting an international debut in 2010, I just take each game as it comes. That’s all I can do and I think it will stand me in good stead,” he said.

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Middlesex eased to a comfortable victory over Netherlands in their Clydesdale Bank 40 encounter in Amstelveen. Their win was set up by Scott Newman, who raced to 122 from only 107 balls, hitting three sixes along the way, as Middlesex reached 241 for 5 after opting to bat first. Pedro Collins then ripped through the Dutch batting line-up with 4 for 25, including a wicket with the first ball of the chase, as Netherlands were bowled out for 195.Newman added 112 in just under 20 overs with Neil Dexter before Dexter edged Peter Borren through to wicketkeeper Atse Buurman to depart for 40. Owais Shah fell a short time later, but Dawid Malan and Gareth Berg chipped in with cameos as Newman kept the runs flowing. Fast bowler Mark Jonkman was the most successful Dutch bowler, picking up 2 for 49.Netherlands’ chase got off to a disastrous start as Eric Szwarczynski played from the crease to his first ball and chipped a simple return catch to Collins. Netherlands slipped to 7 for 2 when Collins trapped Nick Statham lbw, but Australian import Michael Dighton kept the innings afloat with 85 from 102 balls. He was joined in a 72-run partnership by Tom Cooper, who reached 30, and Bas Zuiderent also kept Netherlands in the running with a run-a-ball 28.But after he was dismissed, wickets fell at regular intervals, and Collins returned to wrap up the innings by bowling Mohammad Kashif.

ScorecardSurrey’s hopes of recording only their second championship victory in three seasons were thwarted by Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali at Whitgift School. The hosts looked good as they reduced Worcestershire to 168 for 8 – as they pursued a victory target of 268 runs in a minimum of 51 overs.However, Moeen added an unbeaten 70 to his first innings century to salvage a draw in a tense finish. It was a bold challenge by Rory Hamilton-Brown, considering that they had lost their first two matches, and it almost paid off after Andre Nel’s second ball bounced and left Phil Jaques to have the Australian opener caught at second slip by the Surrey captain himself for the first pair of his career.Jade Dernbach bowled Daryl Mitchell soon afterwards and Surrey’s hopes were high when former England offspinner Gareth Batty broke a third-wicket stand of 54 between Moeen and Vikram Solanki and went on to remove Alexei Kervezee and Ben Smith in quick succession.Batty, who has returned to Surrey after eight seasons with Worcestershire, pinned Solanki and Smith lbw and bowled Kervezee as he tried to sweep. He should also have had Moeen caught at silly mid-off for 16 but the chance went down and Surrey paid a heavy price.Moeen found some support from Ben Scott until he was lbw to Chris Schofield and although Richard Jones and Jack Shantry fell cheaply to Usman Afzaal and Schofield respectively Alan Richardson survived the final over from Dernbach. Moeen had defied Surrey for 50 overs in scoring his 70 off 147 balls with 10 fours and a six when they shook hands on a draw with Worcestershire 170 for 8.Surrey had started the day 85 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand and looked like running into trouble when Afzaal was run out by Shantry’s direct hit from backward point, then Hamilton-Brown was stumped heaving at Moeen..Not for the first time, they were held together by Mark Ramprakash who passed 1,000 Championship runs in his eighth match on the school ground and was on course for his 110th first-class century when he slashed uncharacteristically at Imran Arif and was caught behind. He had scored 82 off 170 balls, including 11 fours and a six.Batty perished in the next over but Steven Davies added an unbeaten 69 off 88 balls with six fours and a six to his first innings century and enabled Hamilton-Brown to make his declaration at 239 for 8.

ScorecardRobin Martin-Jenkins and Monty Panesar took three wickets each as Sussexmanoeuvred themselves into a commanding position on the second day againstGlamorgan at the Swalec Stadium. The pair helped to bowl Glamorgan out for just 191 to give Sussex a 93-run first-innings lead.By the close that advantage became 158 as Sussex reached 65 for 1 intheir second innings. Martin-Jenkins finished with figures of 3 for 34 to add to his 65 runs in Sussex’s first innings, while Panesar took 3 for 20 on his championship debut for his new county.At the start of the day some accurate new-ball bowling accounted for bothGlamorgan openers in consecutive overs. Corey Collymore, who forced the Glamorgan top order into plenty of playing and missing on a helpful pitch, claimed the wicket of Will Bragg, caught behind chasing a wide one.In the next over Gareth Rees also tried to drive a wide delivery which wascaught low down by Michael Yardy at first slip off James Anyon. From 19 for 2 Michael Powell and skipper Jamie Dalrymple had to dig deep to build a recovery.But just after reaching a patient 50 partnership for the third wicket Dalrymplewas trapped leg before deceived by a slower Luke Wright delivery. Powell and Ben Wright guided their side to 100 for 3 at lunch.Wright, in the side because overseas opener Mark Cosgrove was rested for the first game, failed to make the most of his opportunity as he was trapped lbw by Martin-Jenkins for 10. And Martin-Jenkins struck three balls later to knock back James Allenby’s off stump.Martin-Jenkins continued his good form by then trapping Powell leg before twoshort of a half-century. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals as Harris also went lbw to give Panesar a first Championship wicket for Sussex. Glamorgan then slipped to 164 for 8 when wicket-keeper Mark Wallace chased a wide Wright delivery to be caught behind.Robert Croft and Dean Cosker took their side to 184 without further loss at tea before Panesar claimed Glamorgan’s final two wickets in the space of three overs. Cosker became the fifth lbw victim of the innings and Chris Ashling edged behind.Sussex’s second innings had reached 60 without loss when Yardy was given out lbw to Croft’s first ball, bringing night-watchman Anyon to the middle for the final three overs.

A brilliant innings of 125 from 120 balls from Tamim Iqbal was unable to rescue Bangladesh from some familiar failings in the first ODI at Dhaka, as their coach, Jamie Siddons, was once again left frustrated by the lack of expertise on display. Nevertheless, as England’s spinner Graeme Swann noted, the momentum can shift very quickly in three-match series, as the teams prepare to do it all again in the second match on Tuesday.”It’s nice to have just a three-match series, rather than a seven-match slog around the country,” said Swann. “I think it’s better for the game if it’s a shorter series. It is nice, having won the first match, to know that this next game could potentially wrap up the series, but on the other hand, if you’re the team that’s 1-0 down, you only need to win tomorrow to be right back in it. It’s good for the game.”The opening ODI was a face-saver for both teams. England were able to avoid the ignominy of their first defeat in any contest against Bangladesh, while their opponents were able to demonstrate that, whatever the shortcomings that still exist in their set-up, the gulf that once existed between the two sides is narrower than at any time in their previous eight ODI encounters.But though Siddons was full of praise for Tamim, whom he declared to be “world class”, he was nevertheless left to rue a performance that could, with a touch more application, have given England a far greater challenge than the 229 target that they eventually chased down with six wickets in hand.”It’s great to see one of the boys stepping up, and they do it regularly now,” Siddons told Cricinfo. “Hundreds used to be very rare, but in the last few months we’ve put together six or seven, so that’s amazing stuff for individuals. But it probably needed one guy to make 50 or 60 with Tamim, and then who knows? I’ve seen it happen to better sides as well, but it’s disappointing. It was a very flat wicket and we got first use of it, but no-one [but Tamim] went on.”Swann, with three cheap wickets, played a key part in the derailment, but he refused to be drawn into criticism of their approach. “I’ve been impressed with the standard of cricket over here,” he said. “They’ve certainly got talent in the team, and it’s certainly not for an Englishman to say they threw their wickets away and got bowled out cheaply, because that’s what we do most of the time.”It would be very harsh for an Englishman to turn around and criticise anyone else’s one-day cricket,” he added. “They are an ever-improving side. I think four or five years ago, every team who played them expected to walk all over them, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. They’ve got some real talent in the team.”Swann reserved particular praise for Tamim, who lived up to the reputation that had preceded him in the build-up to the series. “He certainly seems a good prospect. He came out all guns blazing and fair play to him, he smashed it everywhere. We kept getting wickets at the other end, so it put a lot of pressure on him, but the way he responded and tempered down his innings was very impressive. It was a good knock.”The manner in which Tamim reined his innings in, from a 32-ball fifty to a 94-ball hundred, was especially pleasing for Siddons, who claimed it was a sign that his message was finally getting through to a talented but temperamental squad.”Team rules warranted him pulling his horns in a bit and batting through the innings, and he was six overs away from doing that,” Siddons said. “So he stuck to the rules. He knows how to dominate, but when we lose a few wickets, he knows how to back off and work the innings around.”Right from the time I got here, my philosophy was that we were going to get some world-class cricketers here, because I don’t believe we’ve got any,” he said. “And now I think we’ve got two or three. Tamim is proving to me that with the hundreds he’s getting against the better sides, and the way that he is making them, that he is world-class. He’s capable of taking on any player in the world and having some success.”England dearly hope that their new opening batsman, Craig Kieswetter, will prove capable of producing similar fireworks in the opening overs of subsequent contests. But his debut innings was a chastening experience, as Alastair Cook pinched the strike for the first three overs, before Bangladesh’s captain and senior spinner, Shakib Al Hasan, brought himself on to bowl. Kieswetter might have been dismissed twice in his first over, before eventually charging down the track to be stumped for 19.”If he wants to keep running down the wicket to our spinners, we’ll keep bowling spinners at him. That’ll suit us perfectly,” said Siddons, who hinted that it might be a tactic they employ regularly during the series. “He was obviously uncomfortable against them early, so we’ll see how he goes. The ball didn’t spin a lot, so that was a bit unfortunate, but Chittagong spins.”From England’s point of view, Swann is determined that they build on their success in the first ODI, and set about using their lead to dominate the coming contests. “I think it would be good if we batted first as well, because you want to know you can win games from any position,” he said. “The Australians always say it doesn’t matter whether you bat or bowl first, it’s whoever plays the best cricket who wins. If we go bat first, we’ll be looking to post a total that’s beyond the reach of Bangladesh.”

The countdown to the ESPNCricinfo Awards begins, with Ashes hundreds from Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Virender Sehwag’s thrill-a-ball 293 against Sri Lanka, Chris Gayle’s mature and match-saving 165 against Australia and Umar Akmal’s hundred on debut making up the final contenders for the Best Test Batting performance of 2009.The top five were drawn on basis of votes from a 14-member jury that includes some of the leading cricket experts in the world and Cricinfo’s senior editors.Strauss’s 161 on day one of the Lord’s Test last summer, Trott’s century on debut in the Ashes decider at The Oval, Sehwag’s 293 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, Gayle’s unbeaten 165* against Australia, and Akmal’s 129 in Dunedin in his first Test innings edged out major innings from Ramnaresh Sarwan, Phillip Hughes, Daniel Vettori, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Yousuf, Fawad Alam, and Rahul Dravid.A departure from the usual year-end awards looking at overall performances, ESPNCricinfo’s honours are in two categories: a jury-based award looking at the year’s best batting and bowling performances and a stats-based award using numbers from Cricinfo’s extensive database.The winners for all the awards will be announced on February 19.

Shane Warne has accused Andrew Strauss of showing a lack of respect to Test cricket by resting for England’s tour of Bangladesh, and has questioned whether Alastair Cook is up to the task of leading the team in his absence.”When I heard that Andrew Strauss is being rested it just doesn’t sit right with me,” Warne told journalists at the launch of the Royals 2020 franchise at Lord’s. “When I am captain I want to get the best out of my players. Maybe that means putting an arm around them or maybe it means giving them a kick up the backside.”Alastair Cook might be completely different. He might want to treat everyone the same way. If I am captain of a side I want to stop my authority on a side.Warne also questioned the timing of Cook’s appointment, suggesting that following his encouraging return to form during the recent tour of South Africa, he would be better served concentrating on his batting and spared the burden of captaincy. Instead, he is likely to be opening alongside the debutant, Michael Carberry, who could prove to be a rival in the long-term if he enjoys a productive series.”I think he has been under pressure for his place in the side,” said Warne. “He’s suddenly found himself, he’s made a hundred and now he is captain. What happens if Michael Carberry gets three hundreds and Alastair Cook gets a couple of runs? What happens then? Do you drop an England captain?I hope they [England] are not taking Bangladesh too easy because they can be quite strong,” he added. “What if they win the first Test? Does Strauss fly out for the second? I hope it’s not the start of a trend. It’s a lack of respect for Test cricket.”It’s disappointing that the captain of England decides to have a rest from a Test series, I can’t comprehend that. Any time you represent your country it’s special and I cannot understand how you can rest your captain.”

Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the England Lions tour of the United Arab Emirates in February. Thorpe, who has been Surrey’s batting coach since 2008, will join an England Lions coaching team which includes David Parsons, ECB Performance Director, and Kevin Shine, ECB Lead Fast Bowling Coach.”I’m really looking forward to the tour and working with the Lions squad,” said Thorpe. “It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m grateful to Surrey for giving me the freedom to take it on. Over the course of my time with the team I hope that I can offer them some good advice and be someone they learn a lot from.””I am delighted to welcome Graham Thorpe as part of the England Lions coaching team and I have no doubt that the squad of aspiring England players will benefit from his experiences both as a hugely successful international cricketer and now a coach,” added David Parsons, the ECB Performance Director. “We will face some tough opposition during our tour of the UAE and the coaching team will be working hard to ensure that we are well prepared.”The three-week Lions tour includes three Twenty20 games against Pakistan A, followed by Twenty20 matches against UAE and England. These will be followed by three 50-over fixtures against Pakistan A at the DSC Stadium, Dubai.

ScorecardDwayne Bravo struck decisive boundaries towards the end of Victoria’s chase•Getty Images

West Indian allrounder Dwayne Bravo’s extraordinary cameo helped Victoria pull off a stunning come-from-behind victory against New South Wales in front of 28,052 people at the MCG.The Bushrangers seemed dead and buried in their run chase, needing 47 to win off 21 balls, before David Hussey launched Aaron Bird for consecutive straight sixes and a boundary through backward point to give them a chance. But Hussey’s exit, for 38 from 16 balls, to a freakish one-handed catch on the long-off boundary by Steven Smith, meant Victoria still needed 26 from 15.Moises Henriques bravely turned to Bird again for the 19th over, having conceded 19 in his previous effort, and the decision looked a good one as Andrew McDonald and Bravo could only muster four runs from the first four balls. But the fifth, Bravo’s fourth of his innings, with Victoria still needing 18, was a half-volley that was launched magnificently over the sightscreen with typical Caribbean flair. Bravo then square drove a wide half-volley for four to reduce the equation to eight off the last over and inflate Bird’s figures to 1 for 53 from four overs.Dwayne Smith allowed a single to McDonald to ensure the rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria would be decided by two West Indians. Smith, a Barbadian, delivered a perfect yorker, the equation now seven off four. But the Trinidadian, Bravo, prevailed by swinging the next ball over the midwicket boundary to all but end an extraordinary game of cricket.Earlier New South Wales had got off to yet another electrifying start after having won the toss and batted. David Warner lit up the MCG with some brutal power hitting during his 20-ball 40. But it was Bravo who showed his supreme all-round talents to stop the Blues in their tracks. He took 3 for 32 from four overs and in the end claimed Man-of-the-Match honours.Hussey took the vital wickets of Phil Jaques (33) and Dominic Thornely (1) at a cost of just 16 to curtail the Blues progress. Steven Smith (35 not out) and Dwayne Smith (25) batted well to help the Blues recover to 6 for 178, before both bowled and fielded superbly to help grind Victoria’s run chase to a halt following a terrific start by Matthew Wade (41) and Brad Hodge (40).But in the end it was Bravo who earned the plaudits, and Victoria who claimed the points to remain undefeated in this year’s Big Bash.

Adelaide Oval will boost its seating capacity to 50,000 after a deal was struck to provide the ground with a major upgrade. The venue will retain the hill at the northern end, the century-old scoreboard and the pavilion-style nature of the ground.One of the major developments from the agreement between the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), the South Australian government and the South Australian National Football League, is that it should lead to AFL matches being played at the ground.”The agreement is a great result for cricket,” Ian McLachlan, the SACA president, said. “Adelaide Oval is internationally recognised as one of the greatest Test grounds in the world and an increased capacity of 50,000 will better position SACA to secure more international cricket matches, including Twenty20.”