England veteran James Anderson has fired a warning to his own team over their tactics in the ongoing five-match Ashes series. The right-arm pacer failed to make much of an impact in the series-opener at Edgbaston as England suffered a heartbreaking 2-wicket loss.
In the first innings, James Anderson managed to pick up only one wicket while his fellow pacers Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad picked up three wicket each. Broad and Robinson had a good outing in the second innings, picking up 3 and 2 wickets respectively while Anderson failed to pick up even one wicket. He finished the game with figures of 1 wicket for 109 runs.
James Anderson warns England:
Following the disastrous outing at Edgbaston, James Anderson has sent out a warning to the English team-management. The star bowler has said that he is “done” if similar surfaces are produced for the remainder of the series.
Before the series began, England skipper Ben Stokes made it clear that the home side wanted flat pitches to help execute their ultra-attacking ‘Bazball’ style. However, the conditions completely rendered Anderson ineffective at Edgbaston. Writing in a column for the Telegraph in the UK, Anderson said the track was “like kryptonite for me”.
“There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace,” he wrote.
“I’ve tried over the years to hone my skills so I can bowl in any conditions but everything I tried made no difference. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle.
“There was a bit of rustiness but I gave it everything I could. Having played for a long time, I realise you can’t take wickets every game. Sometimes it is not your week. It felt like that for me.
“It’s a long series and hopefully I can contribute at some point, but if all the pitches are like that I’m done in the Ashes series,” he added.
Writing further, Anderson admitted that he was not at his best at Edgbaston. The right-arm pacer also revealed the reason behind Stokes not giving him the second new ball late on day 5 as England desperately searched for a breakthrough.
“I know I wasn’t on top of my game this week. It was not my best performance. I know I have more to offer and contribute to the team. I want to make up for it at Lord’s and all I can do is turn up on Sunday and prepare to play,” he wrote.
“I didn’t take the new ball in the first innings or late on the final day. I had a chat with Ben Stokes about how I felt. We agreed it was the type of pitch the taller bowlers were getting more out of. I was completely on board with that,” added Anderson.
Anderson will be looking to bounce back in the second Ashes Test. The much-awaited second match of the series is scheduled to be played from June 28 at the iconic Lord’s.