TYKE THAT!
Bairstow and Root the local heroes as England triumph
ENGLAND levelled their series with India with two games to play when Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow took the winning catch to seal a brilliant innings and 76-run victory.
They love their own up here in whites, and with that grab it gave another favourite son, Joe Root, a record-breaking 27th Test win as England skipper.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ollie Robinson, a former Yorkshire player, got rid of Virat Kohli on his way to 5-65.
But for all the inevitable backslapping and smug satisfaction at the impact the White Rose county has had on England, this was yet another triumph for their Red Rose counterparts – and who else but Jimmy Anderson.
In this game alone, Anderson deserves huge praise for setting the tone right at the start for India’s 78 all out with the first three wickets, including Kohli.
Tormenting
He was also a huge threat on the final day, tormenting the India skipper before he fell to Robinson.
And man-of-the-match Robinson then revealed that a huge part of his success in the game came as a result of direct bowling advice from Anderson to help develop his wobble ball that was a massive success here.
“I’ve just learnt that ball last week from Jimmy,” Robinson admitted. “To bowl with Jimmy is an absolute honour.
“To learn from him has been something that has helped my game no end. I hope I keep opening the bowling with him for the rest of the series.
“I feel like we dovetail quite well, we build pressure at both ends and we have taken wickets with that approach.
“He’s sort of been one of my closest friends here really. I get on with him really well, I speak to him every day. To learn alongside him has been a bonus.” No one has taken more wickets for Root as captain than the 160 claimed by the 39-year-old Anderson.
And clearly with a team that is able to perform as strongly as they have done here in response to their own thumping at Lord’s, both Root and Anderson still have designs on being a big part of things for some time to come.
“As long as I am enjoying it, and I feel like I am the right person to take this team forward, that will be my focus,” said Root. “I’m not putting any time limit on it.
“It’s been a very challenging period throughout my tenure as captain.
Blessed
“I have been blessed with some wonderful senior players to lean on and we have a great group with strong characters.
“So hopefully we take this confidence into the last two games for a belting end to the series.” England will consider whether they can ask both Anderson and Robinson (right) to keep going at The Oval from a fitness point of view.
“I love Test cricket,” added Anderson.
“It is a real challenge and I’m hungry to keep playing. It was my job to set the tone and start this game as we mean to go on, and Ollie backed me up brilliantly.”