England paceman Steven Finn believes England still have every chance of pulling off a victory in the second Test at Newlands, despite picking up just one wicket on day three.
The English bowlers were made to work extremely hard in sweltering conditions in Cape Town on Monday, and it was Finn who emerged as the stand-out performer as he took the key wicket of AB de Villiers for 88. While on paper it appeared to be a day dominated by the South African batsmen, Finn believed his side bowled well throughout the day, and with a bit of luck, he expects better results on Tuesday.
‘One wicket in a day obviously wasn’t ideal, but I thought we stuck to our guns well, and there were little inclinations to get wickets there,’ said Finn. ‘We’re still a long way ahead in the game because we haven’t let South Africa get ahead of us, so a good session in the morning and who knows what might happen.’
Finn has been in excellent form since recovering from a foot injury that threatened to keep him out of the series. He picked up six wickets in Durban, and the extra pace and bounce that he has managed to generate at Newlands has asked plenty of questions of the likes of De Villiers and Hashim Amla.
‘I feel in good rhythm – when the captain asked to put my back into it and add a little extra i did. It was just about trying to create chances and make something happen on that wicket. I think the batsmen have contributed to their own downfalls. We just have to keep playing attritional cricket.’
‘He (Amla) played very well to hold the innings together. He’s a world class player. It’s hard to bowl to him sometimes, but he didn’t always look comfortable out there, it was testament to the way we bowled.’
A draw appears the likely scenario from here as England are likely to bat again to give their bowlers a rest, in between the 17 wickets they still need. Finn refuses to believe that it is set in stone however, and expects the morning session on day four to be pivotal in determining the outcome of the match.
‘We’re still 276 runs ahead. I think that its going to take a very good morning session for us tomorrow to put pressure on South Africa on the last day, but we’re certainly not ruling out a victory. We’ve still got smiles on our faces, we’ve bowled a lot worse and taken wickets so who knows what might happen.’
