Steven Finn excited to start new cricket chapter with Sussex

As the 2022 county cricket season gets under way this week, the former England and Middlesex bowlers is one of the winter additions to the squad who Sussex bosses hope can fire them to a successful summer.

He has signed a multi-year, all-formats contract and is enjoying life on the south coast so far after being a long-term servant to Middlesex.

And he is confident of a successful debut campaign at Hove after settling in well at his new club.

The Watford-born fast bowler ended a 16-year spell with Middlesex in pursuit of success with Sussex.

Bopara - We're in it to win it in the T20 Blast.

Finn is the youngest Englishman to take 50 Test wickets and in many ways fills the gap left at Hove by Chris Jordan’s move to Surrey.

“It’s been good fun, everyone has been very welcoming and helped me settle in,” Finn told us.

“We’ve got a talented squad and I’m very much looking forward to getting going this week.

“You need a fresh start sometimes in your career when things get a bit stale and you feel like you’re not going anywhere.

“It’s exciting to put yourself in a new environment and look to get better yourself and hopefully I can help the younger bowlers.”

Finn is likely to be a mainstay of the Sussex side in all formats.

Their county championship season begins tomorrow – Nottinghamshire are the first visitors to Hove for a championship division two match.

After a series of four-day matches, T20 Blast and One Day Cup action follows – and Finn is already eyeing up having a Blast.

“I’ve not had that much success with Middlesex in T20 cricket these last few years so it’s nice to come here and play in a team that knows how to play the T20 cricket very well,” he said.

“It’s an exciting time to come here and you have the experience of Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright with some exciting young players as well.

“Hopefully when it comes to the T20 season we can keep challenging and pushing to get to the knockout stage, then anything can happen.” He was cautious when asked if Sussex could win the T20 Blast for the first time in 13 years – and insisted they must take it game by game.

“I do think if we look too far ahead, we can trip up and not quite play to our potential,” he added.

“It’s important you break the season down in T20 into little segments and try to build some momentum because quite often it’s the teams that gain momentum through the tournament.

“It’s about coming together as a team and hitting form at the right time and if we do that, I certainly think we will be there or thereabouts.”

Finn likes the look of the Sussex bowling ranks. He added: “We’ve obviously got a very young bowling group but they’re very exciting and I’d like to help them get better as well.

“It’s a nice balance we have. With the exuberance of young players who have no baggage going into games whatsoever, they can go out there and play the game the way they see or feel, it’s a real advantage.

“That blended in with the guys who’ve been around for a long time and handled different situations can be a really good mix.”