James Anderson, England veteran seamer has urged England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to strike a balance between white-ball and red-ball cricket. James Anderson’s message to the board comes following England’s humiliating performance in the ongoing Ashes 2021/22.
England’s Ashes campaign stooped to a new low in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as Australia bundled them out for 68 in the second innings. An innings and 14-run defeat at the MCG followed after heavy losses in Brisbane and Adelaide. With only two games to go, the visitors have a chance to restore some of their pride.
James Anderson Reckons The Balance Is Tipped Slightly Towards White Ball Cricket
James Anderson feels the ECB is focusing too much on white-ball cricket after the 2015 World Cup. The prolific wicket-taker observed that it’s evident by the team’s Test-match performances and added that he wants to see the two formats balanced.
James Anderson stated: “I think there has been a huge direction with white-ball cricket. A big push with that since 2015. I would like to think that maybe the balance between red and white-ball cricket is there, going forward. Because I think at the minute, it’s tipped slightly towards white-ball cricket.”
James Anderson added: “And it has done for the last few years. If you look at our performances in Test cricket over the last few years, they’ve been pretty inconsistent. So, from that point of view, we can hopefully just redress that balance a little bit.”
England’s lack of viable batting options in the format has been the biggest concern. Their batting unit has remained heavily dependent on Joe Root and crumbled in a heap in all three Tests. Although James Anderson gave his best in the two Tests he played, England’s batting unit has collapsed in all six innings played so far. The team has been reliant on Joe Root, who has had a prolific 2021, amassing 1708 runs.
England has been highly inconsistent in Test cricket, especially after 2015. He believes that there was a serious push to improve white-ball cricket after the 2015 World Cup debacle. England’s white-ball squad later won the ODI World Cup for the first time in 2019 under Eoin Morgan, the limited-overs skipper. He also is the first and so far only England player to play 100 T20Is.
James Anderson Wants Teammates To Focus On Last 2 Inconsequential Tests
James Anderson admits conversations will crop up about England’s performances as they have hardly improved. However, his immediate focus is on the last two Tests to avoid a 5-0 whitewash.
The Lancashire-seamer added: “It is hard, obviously there is a lot of chat and noise around when you lose this convincingly. It’s happened before, unfortunately, I’m sure it will happen again. It’s hard when you’re in it, to start dissecting everything. We’ve got two games left that we really want to focus on. We don’t want to start thinking about the whole domestic structure and whatever else.”
The fourth Test starts on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. James Anderson has been one of England’s standout performers in the series and took 4-33 from his 23 overs, including 10 maidens, as England bowled Australia out for 267 on day two of the third Test. He has picked 7 scalps in 2 Tests in the current Ashes 2021/22 series averaging a mere 14.14.
A trip that began with James Anderson believing his final tour of Australia might replace the memories of the 4-0 loss in 2017-18 has moved into a zombified state, with England 3-0 down and the two remaining Tests in Sydney and Hobart now a case of playing for pride and World Test Championship points.