England could rest Anderson for second Test
England head coach Chris Silverwood is still prepared to rest James Anderson for the second Test against India, despite the paceman’s remarkable display of reverse swing in the series opener.
Anderson emerged as England’s key man as they made their final push for victory in Chennai, taking three wickets for just six runs in a virtually unplayable spell.
Withthenextmatchtaking place at the same ground from Saturday, the temptation to let Anderson loose again is obvious,butitisonethetouristsare ready to resist.
At the age of 38, Anderson’s fitness levels are said to be better than ever but, with the tightly-packed fixtures, the policy of rotating him with long-term partner Stuart Broad remains on the table.
Broad hardly represents a downgrade,havingputtogether some of the best form of his career in the past 18 months, and Silverwood is keen to play thelonggamewherehisseamers are concerned.
“It is hard (to leave Anderson out), he is a class act. But you’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
“Broady didn’t play in the last game and we’ve many bowlers here who we could play at any given point. I’m not reluctant to change a winning team now if it’s the best thing to do for the players, the team and the longevity of it.
“You run the risk of the result being different, but you could play the same team and the result could still be differentbecauseweknowIndiawill come back hard.”
IfAndersondoesmakeway, he has at least left the bar impressively high for Broad.
“Jimmyblewthegameopen for us, it was quite remarkable to watch. It just shows what a classactheis,”saidSilverwood.
Leading sports lawyer Nick De Marco has revealed his major role in the overturning of the League One salary cap – a decision that has major benefits for Sunderland.
The rules were introduced last summer and limited Sunderland and their League One rivals to an annual wage spend of £2.5 million.
The Black Cats were firmly against the measure, which affected their transfer business both last summer and in the recent January window.
The Professional Footballers’ Association challenged the rules, arguing that the EFL had failed in their rem it to consult properly with the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee when introducing the cap.
As a result of the successful challenge, League One clubs will revert to the less stringent Salary Cost Management Protocols for the time being.
Those rules say that a club can only spend 60% of its turnover on wages, but owners can inject equity to support turnover.
The change in the rules has a benefit for Sunderland and other big-hitters in the EFL, whose turnover can dwarf that of other clubs, and allows them to splash the cash on new players.
It could hold extra significancefor the Black Cats if their takeover by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is approved.
And De Marco has taken to social media to confirm that he was part of the PFA’s legal team on the case.
He tweeted a link to the website of his firm, Black stone Chambers, along with the caption :“Delighted to have successfully represented the PFA in this important case about football salary caps.”
De Marco and Blackstone Chambers are also set to represent Mike Ashley and Newcastle United in their legal battle with the Premier League.
A statement issued by the firm last year read: “Shaheed Fatima QC and Nick De Marco QC are acting for Newcastle United FC and Mike Ashley (instructed by Dentons) in a dispute with the Premier League about its rejection of a takeover bid made by PCP Capital Partners, the Reuben Brothers and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) based on its Owners and Directors test.”
Newcastle United last year claimed that the Premier League had “rejected” a £300million takeover funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which withdrew its offer in late July 2020.