Jimmy is happy to see red as India lie in wait
JAMES ANDERSON is raring to lead England’s Test attack against India but admits his preparations for the marquee series have been compromised by an emphasis on white-ball cricket.
Anderson and new-ball partner Stuart Broad will carry a sizeable burden of expectation when they come face to face with Virat Kohli and company at Trent Bridge today, but the pair have been short of meaningful competition recently.
With the launch of The Hundred taking centre stage over the past two weeks, and counties contesting the Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup, both of England’s champion seamers have been more active in the commentary box than field of play.
Since the disappointment of a series defeat by New Zealand, Anderson has delivered just 22 overs for Lancashire, while Broad has sent down 19.1 overs for
We’ve had a couple of days here where the intensity has just gone up a notch
Nottinghamshire. Both have been broadcasting rather than participating in the 100-ball tournament, leaving them catching up on net sessions where possible.
‘It’s not ideal. It’s not been the normal preparation. But that’s just the nature of this summer, unfortunately. There’s not been much red-ball cricket at this time of year,’ Anderson said.
‘With lots of other cricket going on that’s all been white-ball stuff, we’ve just been trying to find places to bowl, to make sure we are ticking over. But we’ve had a couple of days here where the intensity has just gone up a notch. It feels like everyone is really excited and hungry for the challenge of Test cricket coming back.
‘For me this summer has been quite stop-start, so I am looking forward to getting my teeth into a five-match series. I get the same feeling from the lads in the dressing room as well.’
Anderson is also mindful of the need to put right a few of the wrongs from the 1-0 defeat against the Black Caps, England’s first loss at home since 2014.
‘We’re really ready to get going and really keen to improve from that New Zealand series, where I don’t feel we gave a great showing of ourselves,’ he said. ‘I think we can do much better than that.’