"I am looking forward to an exciting Tests series": James Anderson

[MenInG]

England will be aiming to complete another major win over Pakistan when they travel to the South Asian nation for a three-Test series for the first time in 17 years.

Ben Stokes' team enter the series on the back of a seven-match T20 series win in Pakistan earlier this year before they got the better of the same opponents in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne this month.

Having beaten Pakistan in cricket’s shortest format, England will be hoping to maintain the upper hand in red-ball cricket.

They are in the middle of a week-long camp at the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Hub and will fly out to Pakistan by the end of the week after a three-day warm-up match against the England Lions at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

England’s warm-up match also coincides with the opening day of the Abu Dhabi T10 which kicks off with a two-match card at the adjoining Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Ben Stokes, who spent time batting in the nets on Tuesday, is expected to stay out of the three-day warm-up, leaving Ollie Pope to lead the side in his absence.

The England Test captain is resting a troublesome left knee that he had to manage while playing a gruelling nine T20Is in the space of a month, culminating in England winning the T20 World Cup.

Veteran seam bowler James Anderson – the only member of the England squad who featured in the last Test series in Pakistan in 2005 – said he is “excited” to return to the country.

Anderson, England’s leading wicket taker in Tests with 667 scalps, did not play in the series that his team lost 2-0.

“It’s been a long time and I didn’t play in those matches, but looking forward to an exciting Tests series,” Anderson said after a training session in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

“We have had the perfect preparation as we head to Pakistan. The facilities are great [in Abu Dhabi] with the amount of pitches here and we are enjoying the weather from the time we arrived.

“It’s exciting for us having not been there for quite some time, and I think I’m probably the only player in this squad who has done a Test tour to Pakistan. I think the fans and players over there would be very excited to see us play."

Anderson, 40, hasn’t put a timeline on his career but believes staying in good shape and enjoy the longest format of the game keeps him motivated to play for England.

“The records don’t stay in my mind at all to be honest,” Anderson said.

“I still love playing the game and I still want to be involved in this Test team as well. For me, it’s just a case of staying in the best shape and help this team win every game.”

Anderson wants the England Test team to just do what the white-ball side did at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

“For the majority of the guys who were involved in that T20 World Cup will surely be inspired to do just as well in the Tests series,” Anderson said.

“We obviously want to continue with that sort of surroundings at the moment. We started to do something special in the Test format in the summer and we would try that again during this series.

“We don’t know really how we are going to do facing Pakistan in an away series but we’ll keep an open mind and make sure every box ticks.”

The first Test will be played in Rawalpindi from December 1. Multan will stage the second Test from December 9 before Karachi hosts the final match from December 17.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/spo...d-return-to-pakistan-in-historic-test-series/

 

[pakfan54588]

Anderson will be licking his lips seeing imam,azhar in top 3

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Anderson will be licking his lips seeing imam,azhar in top 3

Shan has been his bunny as well

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Anderson will be licking his lips seeing imam,azhar in top 3

Anderson is an average bowler in sub continent conditions

 

[pakfan54588]

Anderson is an average bowler in sub continent conditions

wait what ?His record speak for itself .His new ball skill are high class and can easily trouble player like imam and azhar

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Hopefully the tracks aren’t as dead as they likely will be

 

[shamaan]

If they don't create Spinning pitches then England will win the series.

 

[Zaz]

If they don't create Spinning pitches then England will win the series.

Pakistan have always lost when theyve created so called "spinning wkts"

All they need to do is offer a sporting wkt that offers a little bit to pacers n spinners n breaks a little as the match goes on

If we are solely relying on spin n preparing pitches we will be doomed as history has shown

 

[Mamoon]

Shan has been his bunny as well

He is every good bowler’s bunny, but thankfully he won’t get a game.

Imam
Abdullah
Azhar

This will be the top three in all three Tests.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan has never produced rank turners like we see in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or UAE. Pitches here are dead, flat, low and usually aid reverse swing later on.

 

[shah_1]

Don't see a 40 year old Anderson doing well in Pakistan. If Wood isn't fit enough for 3 test matches, I expect their bowling to struggle.

 

[Savak]

Don't see a 40 year old Anderson doing well in Pakistan. If Wood isn't fit enough for 3 test matches, I expect their bowling to struggle.

Don't think Anderson can bowl long spells at this age. England will have to rest him for one of the test matches.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He is every good bowler’s bunny, but thankfully he won’t get a game.

Imam
Abdullah
Azhar

This will be the top three in all three Tests.

Not sure if Imam is an upgrade over him as far as Tests are concerned.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan have always lost when theyve created so called "spinning wkts"

All they need to do is offer a sporting wkt that offers a little bit to pacers n spinners n breaks a little as the match goes on

If we are solely relying on spin n preparing pitches we will be doomed as history has shown

But England spinners are proberly worse than pakistans and England fast bowlers are way better than pakistans.

 

[Marooned]

Pakistan have always lost when theyve created so called "spinning wkts"

All they need to do is offer a sporting wkt that offers a little bit to pacers n spinners n breaks a little as the match goes on

If we are solely relying on spin n preparing pitches we will be doomed as history has shown

This 100%.

 

[Marooned]

But England spinners are proberly worse than pakistans and England fast bowlers are way better than pakistans.

No they aren't.

People said exactly the same about Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi but then they were comfortably outbowled by Shaheen Hassan.

Home advantage is always there.

 

[Energy]

Their spinners will be their main weapon and Pakistan's biggest weakness. Anderson will play an excellent support role.

 

[shamaan]

No they aren't.

People said exactly the same about Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi but then they were comfortably outbowled by Shaheen Hassan.

Home advantage is always there.

You obviously haven't seen the squad.

 

[Marooned]

You obviously haven't seen the squad.

You obviously didn't get the point.

Whatever seamers we have still have a great degree of familiarity with these conditions.

 

[MenInG]

News is that Mark Wood is doubtful for 1st Test so a lot of pressure on Anderson.

 

[Kianig89]

Lot of free wickets for Jimmy as Pakistan have a handful of fisherman
Though the lack of bounce and dead wickets will make life tough for bowlers but reverse swing will be key

 

[Saj]

He'll cause the Pakistan batters a lot of problems if there is even the slightest bit of swing.

Still a fantastic bowler even though he's close to the end of his career.

 

[Kianig89]

Reverse Swing is which England will exploit they will be well aware of that one session which cost Pakistan series against Australia
I predict 2-0 Eng win

 

[TeymurBlake]

James Anderson + Reverse Swing = Major problems for Pakistan batsman.

 

[MenInG]

"Babar Azam is Pakistan's best batter but we won't take others lightly": James Anderson

James Anderson in his presser:

"Babar Azam is the captain and of course, Pakistan's best batter. But we won't take the other batters lightly."

"Age is just a number. I'm very fortunate that I'm naturally quite fit. But it's also something I have really worked hard on. Happy to be back to Pakistan after so long."

"We have been talking a lot about what the wicket might be like, we have looked at the Australia and South Africa series played here to try and get the idea about the conditions."

"It's been an amazing welcome. All the guys are really excited. We are coming back to play here after 17 years, so everyone knows how big this is."

 

[MenInG]

James Anderson insisted the England team are "chomping at the bit" to get their first Test in Pakistan for 17 years under way in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The 40-year-old is the only member of the England squad to have toured the country before, back in 2005, but he only featured in red-ball tour matches and one-day internationals, not the Test series.

It is the only cricket-playing nation where Anderson has yet to play Test matches during his two decades in professional cricket, and the seam bowler is ready to embrace the new challenge.

"(We are) really excited," Anderson said. "Especially after the summer we had in Test cricket, we felt like we were building something and we want to keep that kind of momentum building and to be a part of that in the summer was amazing.

"Then, to be a part of what is a really exciting challenge for us out here...Different conditions, different to what we will have experienced before as a group. It's a really exciting challenge and I think all of us are just chomping at the bit."

In March, Australia became the first of the big three cricketing nations (India, England and Australia) to embark on a Test tour of Pakistan again and the first two Tests ended in high-scoring draws before the visitors clinched a series victory in the final game.

However, Anderson believes England have what it takes to claim 20 wickets in each match, a feat Australia managed in only the final Test match of their series. In Rawalpindi, only 14 wickets fell across the five-day Test, and it could prove a tough challenge for the England bowling attack.

Anderson continued: "We're trying to make sure we (the bowlers) have all bases covered for every eventuality and make sure we know what fields we might set, talking specifics about their batters as well and trying to work out plans for them.

"But I think, at this level, it's happened for a few years in the Test team in particular where we, I wouldn't say we're self-sufficient, but we do look after each other, and we've got great analysts.

"We've got great coaches all around us and some of the best captains the world has ever seen in our group, so we can pick their brains as well and we feel like we've got what it takes to take 20 wickets in each Test match."

SKY

 

[MenInG]

Pace bowler James Anderson says England may have to be "creative" in order to win the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Pakistan have not lost any of the four matches played in Rawalpindi since Test cricket returned to the country.

Two of those have been draws - the match against Australia in March saw only 14 wickets fall.

Anderson told BBC Sport: "We've got a captain and coach that don't want draws. We're not playing for draws."

Captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have urged England to play with aggression since taking charge at the beginning of the summer.

The approach yielded six wins in seven matches but will now be challenged in the contrasting conditions of Pakistan, where England are set to play their first Test for 17 years.

"We don't know how it's going to play. Traditionally it is flat," said 40-year-old Anderson.

"We'll come out and try to win the game - we might have to be creative in how we do that."

England halted tours to Pakistan after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009, only returning in September for a T20 series that the visitors won 4-3.

In the intervening years, Pakistan have hosted in England in the United Arab Emirates. Across two series, England have lost five Tests, drawn one and won none.

Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, is the only member of the current squad that was part of the tour to Pakistan in 2005, but admitted there is little knowledge he can pass on to his team-mates.

"It's great to be back," he said. "Seventeen years is a long time. It would be wrong if I said 'the pitch is going to play like this, or this is what to expect'.

"It's a completely different team we're playing against, completely different conditions. It's about adapting when we get out there."

Tests in Pakistan are usually attritional affairs, far removed from the all-action nature of England's summer - the entire 2-1 series victory against South Africa included only nine days of play.

When Australia defeated Pakistan 1-0 here earlier this year, they did so in the final session of the fifth day of the third Test, after the first two matches were drawn.

McCullum said on Monday his side are happy to risk losing in order to win.

Anderson said: "There will be times when we have to soak up pressure. We get that.

"But there will be times when we have to put pressure back on the opposition and the skill we're trying to develop is when to do that.

"With the ball we're trying to take wickets. The captain and coach have made that quite clear - every time you run in to bowl it's about taking wickets. It's not about controlling the run-rate, it's about how we're going to get 20 wickets."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/63674347