Steven Finn retires from cricket after ‘admitting defeat’ in injury battle

Finn has been unable to recover from a long-running knee problem.

Steven Finn, right, was a three-time Ashes winner (Philip Brown/Pool/PA) (PA Archive)

Three-time Ashes winner Steven Finn has announced his immediate playing retirement aged 34 as he “admitted defeat” in a long-running battle against various injuries.

Finn took 125 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of 30.4 between 2010 and 2016 for England, but he had drifted out of contention a while ago and has played no first-class cricket since July last year.

He ended a long association with Middlesex to sign for Sussex last summer, but a setback in his attempt to recover from a long-running knee problem has seen him bring his 18-year career to a conclusion.

He said: “I have been fighting a battle with my body for the last 12 months and have admitted defeat to it.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to play cricket as my vocation since I made my debut for Middlesex in 2005. The journey hasn’t always been smooth, but I have loved it nonetheless.

“I retire with some amazing memories with England, Middlesex and Sussex, shared with fantastic people. Those will live with me forever.

“Cricket has given me a lot and I hope to give back to the game in some capacity in the future. But, for now, I’ll enjoy watching on without wondering whether my body will be able to make it through another day’s cricket.”

Finn took 129 wickets in 90 white-ball appearances for England and helped Middlesex to the County Championship title in 2016.

He became the club’s youngest first-class debutant aged 16 and made his England bow five years later during a winter tour of Bangladesh, while he was an ever-present in the 2010 Test home summer programme.

Finn was England’s leading wicket-taker after three Tests in their seminal 2010-11 Ashes triumph in Australia but was unceremoniously dropped for the Melbourne and Sydney triumphs because of his economy rate, while he featured just once when they retained the urn in the summer of 2013.

He was labelled “not selectable” by then England white-ball coach Ashley Giles a few months later back in Australia, with Finn later admitting he had been set back a couple of years by having to change his technique in 2012 because he kept knocking the bails off at the non-striker’s end with his knee in his delivery stride.

This habit led to complaints from the touring South Africa batters and the International Cricket Council stepped in, deeming it a no-ball – commonly known as ‘Finn’s Law’, with the seamer having to alter his run-up to correct the problem.

Finn returned to the set-up in the 2015 Ashes, with the series level at 1-1, and produced career-best figures of six for 79 at Edgbaston as England went on to claim a 3-2 victory.

Finn took 11 wickets in three Tests during the successful tour to South Africa in 2015-16 while he claimed 31 dismissals in eight matches to end Middlesex’s 23-year wait for the championship crown.

He made his final Test appearance in Dhaka in October 2016 as injuries went on to take their toll, with Finn sliding down the pecking order for both England and Middlesex before joining Sussex last year.

He took 21 wickets in 19 appearances for the south coast club in 2022 and finishes with a total of 947 scalps in 453 matches.

Finn added: “To have played 125 games for England, including 36 Tests, far surpassed what I dreamed of.

“I want to thank Sussex Cricket for their support over the last 12 months especially and for welcoming me wholeheartedly into the club at the beginning of last season.

“It really is a great place to play cricket and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to play more of a part on the field since joining the club.”

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “Steven has been a fantastic bowler for Middlesex, Sussex and England.

“Over the next few weeks and months, I’m sure he will look back on his career with great pride and reflect on his huge contribution to the game.

“At this time there is huge disappointment that he can’t continue his career having worked so hard to get back to full fitness.”