good that his secondary skills has improved but he should improve his bowling in the first place

[Mike: His bowling looked in good order, though it was difficult to tell given the conditions and rather poor batting. That he can improve his secondary skills so dramatically suggests that he's learning all the time, so no doubt his bowling will improve. If at present he isn't as good as Broad, Tremlett and Anderson, that's no shame for one as young as he is.]

England have at present a decent set of seam bowlers, indeed we have more international class seamers than at any other time I can remember. We have one outstanding spinner, a reasonable back up spinner and a several good prospects for spin going forward. Where we are weak is there is no out and out pace bowler to whom to throw the ball. Flintoff is gone, Harmison is never going to play for England again and Mahmood has shown himself to be not of the requisite class.
Mike, as someone who gets to see a lot of county cricket, have you spotted anyone who might potentially fill that hole?

[Mike: Short answer, no.]

Finn seems to be very sensible and level-headed. I thought he was handled very well in Australia, getting the chance to play in the early games and being rested when it was clear he was running out of steam. As he gets stronger, he'll get better. With Finn, Woakes and Harris in their early 20s backing up Bresnan, Broad and Shahzad in their mid-20s, plus others like Dernbach in the frame, England has a lot of talent among the young seamers and with Rashid and Briggs England has two outstanding spin prospects, as well. The future looks bright.

@Mike: I agree what you said is usually true. I was just wondering, if he is neglecting his "improvement in bowling" to develop his secondary skills. That can happen (e.g. Irfan Pathan). It is like, using your "googly" too much and end up ruining your "stock" ball. Nevertheless, he is a good prospect for England and it would be an exciting sight to see him share the new ball with Broad (I hope he becomes as good as him, if not better).

[Mike: I don't think he's neglecting his bowling at all, but you can't bowl all the time. England are generally proud of their fielding, so all of them practice it a lot, and they have a policy of making the top-order batsmen take a tailender under their wing to improve their batting. In Finn's case, it's clearly working.]

Why am I afraid that the long answer is also 'no'? lol

@Mike: That sounds good.

@Mike: Re. a young English bowler with genuine pace, what do you make of Stuart Meaker? I've heard he can bowl up in the 90s and has taken 5-86 against Glamorgan. His bowling stats aren't amazing at the moment but does he have the potential to fulfill the role in the future?

in reply to jon, stuart meaker looks like a he could develop into a serious prospect. at the moment he can be a little wayward but is a wicket taker. not only that he recorded the fastest ever ball at over 96mph at loughborough a couple of years ago. i'll certainly be following his progress with interest this season.

I am fascinated by all the interest surrounding the likes of Finn and Meaker. Both are talented, but when we examine the stats it is difficult to go past Woakes and Harris. Both compliment their bowling, paricularly the former, with promising batting ability. I would not be surprised to see the England Lions seam attack of the winter tour to the West Indies soon become England's preferred attack.