Steven Finn urges England not to dwell on the Ben Stokes' controversy
Sunday 6 September 2015 19:18, UK
Steven Finn has warned England must not be sidetracked by the Lord's controversy over Ben Stokes' dismissal for obstructing the field.
Stokes became just the second England player in the history of international cricket ever to fall to the rare mode of dismissal during the 64-run defeat to Australia on Saturday.
Rival captains Eoin Morgan and Steve Smith made clear their differences in post-match interviews, but Finn, with a the benefit of a night's sleep, urged England not to let any lingering perception of injustice put them off their game for the remaining three must-win fixtures in the Royal London Series.
Stokes was fourth out in a failed run-chase on Saturday which left England 2-0 down, and needing to restate their case as a resurgent force in one-day internationals.
England, who have now lost 11 of their last 12 ODIs against the world champions, will aim to stop the rot at Old Trafford on Tuesday, and Finn is in no doubt that dwelling on the incident at Lord's will do the hosts no good at all.
"I think we'd be foolish to let the Stokes dismissal nag away at us," England's lynchpin white-ball seamer said.
"We have a young side - we have some quite emotional guys in that team.
"If we let that emotion come into our cricket, I don't think that it will serve us well.
"If we stick with the mantra of going out there and enjoying it, trying to show off and deliver our skills as best we can with a smile on our face, that will serve us far better than getting fired up and angry - because I don't that will bring the best out of us."
Morgan claimed he would, in Smith's place, have withdrawn his appeal.
But Finn admits the tourists had every right to ask the question.
"It's not against the Laws of the game for them to appeal," he said. "It's up to the umpires to make the decision.
"We can't have too many qualms with that - and if we dwell on it, it could affect us.
"Now we need to win the next three games to win the series. We need to keep it as simple as that."
Stokes' departure was a flashpoint which exercised the traditionally quiet Lord's crowd, with boos breaking out and lasting most of the rest of the match.
But Finn added: "It's in the past now. We lost (on Saturday) – Australia played better than us.
"Obviously, it leaves a bit of a sour note - but ultimately Australia played better.
"We have to be better in these next three games."
On returning to the pavilion, Stokes told his team-mates he had been trying to protect himself - a highly plausible version of events, according to Finn.
"I think everyone in the dressing room, when we saw it in real time, thought he was taking evasive action.
"The ball looked to be travelling towards the stumps.
"The fact that it was in slow motion didn't help Ben's cause.
"How often does the bowler feign to throw the ball but doesn't actually do it?
"But this time he did let the ball go - and by the time you realise the bowler has actually let the ball go and you are trying to get out the way, the first and foremost thing is that you're worried for your safety rather than worrying about where your stumps are."
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Stokes' split-second reaction was by definition instinctive.
Finn added: "Ben said he was taking evasive action, and there's no reason not to believe him.
"If you watch it real time and you've got someone hurling a cricket ball at you from 10 yards, your stumps are the last thing on your mind."
Stokes himself posted on his official Facebook page about the incident, saying: "People sharing their opinion about yesterday, including some Australian players... I want to share mine but I don't want to get fined."
Watch the third ODI between England and Australia live on Sky Sports 2 from 1.30pm on Tuesday.
