Finn struggles for rhythm but deserves to be given a break

This is more what Test cricket used to be like.

None of the most recent six Tests played in England have gone into a fifth day. Three of them have not made it into a fourth. You have to go back to the Trent Bridge Test of 2014 to find the last time a Test in England (or Wales) was drawn.

But before we became accustomed to the pace of modern Test cricket, before we became spoiled by the new normality of T20, this third day in Durham was what Test cricket was like.

There was none of the extravagant seam or swing movement we have seen in recent times here. There was little pace in the pitch and little assistance from the conditions. And, at last, a couple of the Sri Lanka batsman displayed the determination to make England fight for victory.

As a result, England's bowlers had to work hard. And as a result, England supporters were required to show some patience.

But when you have grown used to instant gratification, when you have grown used to Australia being bowled out in 37 overs at Edgbaston and 19 overs at Trent Bridge, when you have grown used to Sri Lanka being asked to follow on and Ben Stokes thrashing an 85-ball century at Lord's and 200 off 163 balls in Cape Town, then you are in danger of losing the skill of patience and developing the trait of entitlement.

So, a few overs into the afternoon session, the grumbles started to grow. They weren't serious and it might, in part, have been due to a lack of other conversation points. But there was a sense that something was slightly amiss in an England performance that managed "only" seven wickets in a day. And, the focal point of the grumbles - from the media at least - seemed to be Steven Finn.

Finn hasn't been at his best this season. He hasn't generated the pace with which he made his name and, with Chris Woakes impressing on his recall, there is some talk that he could be the man to make way once Ben Stokes is fit to return.

But Finn was still able to find enough life in the surface to bounce out a well-set opening batsman - Kaushal Silva - and was still, with an average speed of 82.1mph, the second quickest member of the England attack behind Woakes (84.3mph). He also claimed 3 for 26 in the second innings of the first Investec Test. He is not bowling poorly; he's just not at his best.

It has to be remembered that he is only eight Tests into his comeback. He was out of Test cricket for two years up until the Edgbaston Test last year, going through a crisis of form and confidence, that included an early return from Australia in 2014 when he was deemed - quite accurately, really - "unselectable" by the England coach of the time, Ashley Giles.

It took months to coax back him back to something approaching his best. It took months of encouragement and praise and technical work that eventually helped him add a decent outswinger to his game. And, bearing in mind he is averaging 24.88 runs per wicket since his comeback, it is puzzling that so many pundits seem to think his place should be in question heading into the Test at his home ground of Lord's.

Dropping Finn now could set him back many months. Just as batsmen often benefit from patience and investment - Alastair Cook being an obvious example - so bowlers need the support and confidence supplied by continuity of selection. Of course, in the long term, Finn needs to rediscover the ability to generate the sort of pace through the air that can take slow pitches out of the equation but his career strike-rate - a wicket every 47.70 balls - is better than James Anderson (56.90) or Stuart Broad (56.10). It would the jerkiest of knee-jerk actions to discard him now.

There is a temptation to believe that "new" or "different" will be better. And it is certainly the case that players' reputations often improve for them missing games on surfaces that might not have suited them. Had Jake Ball played on this pitch, he would not have been able to find movement that was absent for James Anderson. He would not have been able to find seam movement absent to Stuart Broad. And he would not have been able to find the pace that was absent for Finn. Ball is already a fine bowler and he may well grow better. But anyone thinking he was going to find demons in this surface is naïve and the place "to look" at a player is county cricket, not a Test.

"We've had three bowling innings where things have gone perfectly," Finn said afterwards. "But this is a very low and very slow wicket now. It was never a 100-all-out wicket; that was a bit of an anomaly of a performance. It has been a good, hard slog today.

"It's no secret that I've been searching for rhythm a bit this summer. It's been there in patches, which is frustrating, but I feel I'm getting there.

"If I knew what I needed to do, I wouldn't be searching for it. When you're searching for that golden nugget it becomes detrimental and maybe I've been doing that because I've been desperate to be in form by the time the internationals came around. I haven't been 100 percent good 100 percent of the time.

"I came out after tea trying to get into a fight with the batsman. I had a bit more intent.

"I still feel I'm doing a job for the side. Everyone backs each other and you're always getting good messages from the management. I don't feel it's the sort of system where you are discarded if you have a couple of bad games."

With England's schedule as it is, a bunch of seamers will be required to meet the workload. And it bodes well that Woakes appears to be developing into the role. But, with his swing and consistency, he is more of a stand-in for Anderson than a rival for Finn. Either way, it bodes well for England that they may have tough choices to make in time.

There were some errors from England. Despite a vast lead and the recent fragility of the Sri Lanka batting, there was nobody at third slip when Silva edged Chris Woakes when he had scored 16.

And, when Angelo Mathews, on 36, skipped down the wicket and missed one fired outside off stump by Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow reminded us that there was a time when keepers were judged by their work standing up to the stumps. Suffice to say, for all the improvements made by Bairstow - and Jos Buttler - standing back to the seamers, they both have a long way to go to replicate the standards that were once considered the norm.

But England go into the fourth day with a lead of 88 and five wickets to take to win the Test series. It is still an overwhelmingly dominant position.