Finn wins out in race for final England spot

Middlesex quick Steven Finn has beaten the uncapped Jake Ball for the final place in England’s XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley, captain Alastair Cook said Wednesday.

With England having selected just a 12-man squad, Cook took the unusual step of effectively naming his side 24 hours before the start of a match, with the first of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka due to get underway at Headingley, Yorkshire’s headquarters ground in Leeds, northern England, on Thursday.

“Steven Finn is going to play,” Cook told reporters at Headingley on Wednesday. “He’s been outstanding when he’s been fit for us. I think everyone kind of knew that.” Finn missed the World Twenty20 in India earlier because of calf and side injuries and his Test career has been interrupted by fitness problems.