Finn bribed with booze to save Test

London: Fast bowler Steve Finn was bribed with wine by his teammates, Alastair Cook and James Anderson to become England`s record-breaking night watchman to save the Dunedin Test against New Zealand.

Finn stood tall for 286 minutes on the way to 56, his maiden first-class half-century, as England batted for 170 overs on a thatched strip which looked like the Doormat of Dunedin, the Daily Mirror reports. Skipper Cook and Anderson both offered Finn a case of wine if he made it through to lunch on the final day and another if he made it to the tea interval, the paper said. Finn lasted until the final session, when Bruce Martin`s left-arm spin trapped him leg before wicket, but by then England`s wine buffs were easing towards safety at a decanter. Finn said he thinks he has got four cases of wine coming his way, adding those guys all helped him through and set smaller targets because it is easy to get giddy as a lower-order batsman. Finn added they identified important periods of the day, and more often than not they got it right, adding to bat for so long and then just have a big sweep across the line just after tea wasn`t the best thing for the team but thankfully they have got through to Wellington unscathed. Cook, fuming at the way England squandered their wickets in the first dig, hopes his front-line batsmen will follow Finn`s exemplary resistance when the second Test starts on Wednesday. ANI