Anderson ready to sweat it out again
IN MELBOURNE the series has gone on, the harder he has worked. The class that he has eventually came out but, unfortunately for us, it is a bit late.
“But, at the same time, every time you take the field, put the shirt on, you want to show people what you can do and help the team to a victory.
“I’d feel disappointed for this group if we didn’t get a win on this trip because we’ve worked so hard. One last push at Sydney to get a win. It would mean a lot to the lads and all the support we’ve had over here.”
But standing in their way again will be Steve Smith – a brick wall England have been banging their heads against all tour. It is not rocket science but getting him out early looks the key to victory.
“I tried a fair bit but that pitch was so unresponsive. I know my speed dropped off into my 58th and 59th overs,” said Anderson with a wry smile.
“But on that pitch I was bowling it, looking up at the speed [on the big screen] and then looking back to see him hitting it! It’s quite demoralising when it gets to that point.
“He’s a world-class player in the form of his life. It’s going to take something special to get him out.”
Anderson has been England’s closest thing to ‘something special’ with 16 wickets in the series.
Just don’t say he has not been trying. In fact, don’t say any of them have not been trying.
And for all that Anderson wishes that something special might have come sooner, don’t say that a victory would not mean an awful lot to this group of players.