Standing at 6' 7'' Steven Finn is the latest bean-pole fast bowler to carry England's hopes. Pinging the ball down from the clouds he has the heady blend of pace and trampolining bounce to rattle the best players. He made his county debut for Middlesex as a 16-year-old in 2005, the youngest to do so since Fred Titmus in 1949, and was earmarked as an England prospect from his early days.

When he secured a more permanent position in 2007 he delayed going to university in 2008. He represented England at all age-group levels from Under-16 upwards and his call-up to the senior squad in Bangladesh showed he'd impressed the right people

He enjoyed a solid 2009 season for Middlesex, taking 53 wickets at 30.64 in the Championship and was selected for England Lions' tour to UAE. He impressed enough to be named in England's list of 30 probables for the World Twenty20 but, with a number of others ahead of him, it looked unlikely selection for the senior team would come knocking until the next season.

However, Stuart Broad, Graham Onions and Ryan Sidebottom all picked up injuries early on England's tour to Bangladesh and Finn was parachuted in as cover. Barely 24 hours after arriving in the country he was playing in the warm-up game against Bangladesh A and impressed on his Test debut three days later displaying good pace and bounce on a docile Chittagong surface.

With the England management desperately searching for a consistent replacement for Steve Harmison, Finn marked his home debut in style. In the familiar surroundings of Lord's, Finn carried a rusty England attack with 4 for 100 in the first innings and went one better in the second, taking 5 for 87 to finish with nine in the game and the man-of-the-match medal in just his third Test.

Despite doubts as to whether he was ready to take on the challenge of a tour of Australia, Finn fronted up impressively in his early outings, claiming a career-best 6 for 125 to help turn the tide in the first Test at the Gabba, before stepping into the breach left by an injury to Stuart Broad to help seal victory in the second Test at Adelaide. Though he faded at Perth and was omitted from the last two matches, he'd done enough to confirm he has a big future.

Sahil Dutta January 2011