Steve Finn believes England’s Ashes success is due to the relaxed dressing-room atmosphere that has allowed their young cricketers to thrive.
Finn made a spectacular return to Test cricket in the win over Australia at Edgbaston, taking eight wickets in the game to collect the man-of-the-match award and helping England take a 2-1 lead in the Investec Series.
Victory in the next Test at Trent Bridge ensured that England regained the urn and sparked jubilation in the dressing room, where batsman Joe Root was interviewed on television while impersonating former England captain Bob Willis.
Finn said: “It’s a good fun place to be. You can’t lark around like that when you’re losing, but even though there is pressure there, the senior players take the edge off it and create an environment where it’s [about no more than] a game of cricket.
“The environment means the young guys can just come in and play the way they do in county cricket — and those players have done fantastically well.
“Joe Root is the No1-ranked batsman in the world now and has already scored eight hundreds in only 31 Tests. Ben Stokes has everything and he has shown that he can win matches with both the bat and the ball. We have some exciting cricketers and they are being nurtured well.
“[New coach] Trevor Bayliss has been fantastic. He is very chilled-out, more of an observer than an in-your-face, preaching sort of coach. If he has something pertinent to say, he will say it. That’s a good way for a coach to be.
“It’s exciting. Australia have some of the world’s best players and we’ve managed to beat them... but it’s important we don’t get carried away.”
Finn is one of a core of players whom England hope will provide the foundations for future success. He told the BBC: “Winning the Ashes is fantastic, but it does feel like it’s just the start. These players could play for England for a long time yet.”
