Steven Finn has claimed that he is excited to bowl at Chris Gayle when England face the West Indies in the Super Eights stage of the World Twenty20 tournament on Thursday.

Finn's duel with Gayle is expected to be one of the key battles of the contest between the two sides and the Middlesex seamer is looking forward to facing an opponent he admires.

The 23-year-old told The Sun: "I've never spoken to Gayle but I'm sure he's an interesting character to get to know. He has an aura about him when he's in the middle and, watching on TV, it is a massive aura.

"It's exciting to come up against people like that. I see it as a great challenge to bowl at one of the best, if not the best, Twenty20 batsman in the world.

"He isn't their only danger man - the likes of Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy are also very explosive."

England captain Stuart Broad has also identified the danger posed by Gayle.