Come in Andy SWING KING IS BACK

CHRIS STOCKS in MUMBAI series against the world’s No.1 side, Anderson’s r e t u r n is a huge psychological boost for captain Alastair Cook and his players.

“It’s really good news,” said Cook. “He’s worked incredibly hard.

“It’s great that he’s put the effort in – rather than maybe take the easy option and come back in July, he wants to make a difference in this series. Just chatting to him, the second Test is a good possibility.”

Anderson, 34, has not played since England’s final Test of the summer against Pakistan at The Oval.

But with no warm-up games on this tour, there is not much else England can do to get their talisman ready for his comeback, other than put him through his paces in the nets. “It’s not ideal,” said Cook. “If there’s one person who could do it, it’s Jimmy. He’s come back so much quicker than we thought he would. He’s up for this.”

But Cook’s men are being given little chance against heavily fancied India, especially after t h e i r m a u l i n g by Bangladesh in Dhaka where they lost 10 wickets to spin in a nightmare final session.

“It’s a huge challenge,” said Cook. “But what this side has always done over the last couple of years is exceed expectations in big series.

“Last year we went to South Africa and won away and they were the No.1 side.”