De Villiers tells Jimmy: You’ve lost your pace!
If Jimmy Anderson needed any incentive to finish a disappointing series on a high note and prove that he is still the leader of England’s attack then AB de Villiers provided it for him yesterday.
The South African captain was clearly trying to divert attention from the shortcomings of his own side ahead of today’s final Test here on the outskirts of Pretoria when he criticised both England’s batting and bowling.
But De Villiers may just have poked a sleeping tiger with his inference that Anderson, with just three wickets in the series so far and forced to play second fiddle to Stuart Broad in Johannesburg, was past his best. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that there are some weaknesses in the England side that we have exposed but not enough,’ said De Villiers ahead of what might be his last Test in charge of South Africa. ‘ Their batting is not 100 per cent best-team-in-the-world material and the bowling may be experienced but some of their guys have lost pace over the years.’
Who could he mean? Not Broad, surely, after he demolished South Africa with one of the great spells of fast bowling at the Wanderers. It can only be Anderson (below), who was the slowest of the eight seam bowlers used by both sides in the third Test and had the indignity of being ordered out of the attack for running on the pitch.
England captain Alastair Cook said: ‘He’s obviously trying to wind everything up and if Jimmy reads it I’m sure he’ll have a word when the match starts. I actually think his speeds have been quite good in this series. It’s a brave man to call Jimmy Anderson out but I guess it will spice up the match a little.’
It should be remembered that it is England who are 2-0 up going into this dead rubber and are very much a team on the up while South Africa, who will give a debut today to opener Stephen Cook, are having to face up to the end of their era as the best team in the Test world.
But even the England captain admitted that De Villiers might have a point about a fragile line-up that has relied too heavily on Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow and has much to play for on what looks another sporty pitch.
In effect, Cook said the likes of Alex Hales, Nick Compton and even James Taylor are all playing for their places.
‘The guys are desperate to shore up their spots so when the selectors meet ahead of the Sri Lankan series this summer they’ve earned the right to play,’ said Cook. ‘ I’m really looking forward to this week to see how people respond to that. We’ve got an opportunity to see how far we’ve gone.’
Cook has had a poor series by his own standards, quite a contrast to his outstanding 2015, but he goes into this match needing just 117 runs to become the first Englishman to reach the magic figure of 10,000 in Test cricket. ‘It hasn’t quite happened for me this series so it would be lovely to score a hundred and get that milestone,’ said Cook. ‘But it is more important to score a hundred to set the tone for England. If you get to these milestones along the way then it’s all well and good.’
England were expected to make a late decision on the replacement for the injured Steven finn with all three of Chris Woakes, Mark footitt and Chris Jordan in the frame for a Test England are desperate to win to finish on a high note.
‘We had a discussion yesterday about it and it is quite a big decision to make,’ said Cook. ‘All three are desperate to be selected. We haven’t made our minds up yet. If in doubt you play your strongest side.’ That surely means that Woakes, who bowled better in Durban than his figures suggested while standing in for the injured Anderson, will play today, with England resisting the temptation to blood the untried left-arm of footitt.
England were disappointed to lose the final Test to Australia last summer with the Ashes sealed and do not want to make the same mistake again. This is no time for experimentation. Just ask Jimmy Anderson.