Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
With England teetering on the verge of crisis – a 2-0 home defeat by a raw Pakistan side would demand some change – James Anderson has defended the way he bowls against people who “think they might know better than me”.
Anderson, England’s Test vice-captain, also denied there was a problem with the Test team other than that they were “potentially low on confidence” after six defeats and no win in their past eight Tests, as well as refuting Michael Vaughan’s suggestion that Stuart Broad, or Anderson himself, should be dropped.
As England prepared to face Pakistan in the second Test, starting at Headingley tomorrow, Anderson, speaking in his quiet, very deliberate way that can be almost as menacing as his bouncer, said: “For me, I’d like to think that part of the skill of being a bowler is knowing what length on certain wickets you need to bowl.
“I didn’t bowl particularly well in that first spell [in the first Test at Lord’s] but bowled a couple of good spells from the Nursery End. I didn’t have my best game, I know that, but I’m aware of what lengths that need to be bowled on certain pitches,” he added pointedly.
“We watched Pakistan bowl at us and could see what lengths worked on that pitch, so it’s just something I’ll try and block out. Some people think they might know better than me but I’d like to think that, after 15 years of playing Test cricket, I know which lengths to bowl on certain pitches.”
He did not add that he had taken 535 more Test wickets than most of his critics.
“As well as taking in the conditions, you’ve got to take in the batsmen. Sometimes, I might operate where I start the batsman with a drive and try and tempt him into a loose shot. It’s about working the game out as well, about game management. It’s not as simple as saying ‘we’ve got to bowl fuller’ and just chucking it up there and get smashed everywhere and hope they edge one.
“There’s a bit more to it than that. There’s more to Test cricket. You’ve got to be patient. I’ve always looked at it as almost a game of chess. You’ve got to outmanoeuvre the batsman. You’ve got to lure him into a false sense of security if you can. For me, it’s more than just trying to throw it up there and nick one.”
Vaughan’s suggestion that Anderson or Broad should be dropped was given equally short shrift. “Obviously, I’m going to say no,” Anderson said.
“We’ve 950 Test wickets between us. We’re doing the best we can for this team. We’re trying to perform well enough to turn this team around. I know we’ve been on a really bad run of form this winter and the first Test here, and I think in these situations you need players to stand up and put in match-winning performances.
“People will piggyback on those sorts of performances. As I said, that’s all we can focus on. We’ll try to block out the noise from whoever is shouting out.”
Asked if there was a “fundamental problem” with England’s Test team, Anderson said: “I don’t think there is a problem. I just think we’re potentially low on confidence when we go out in the middle. We’ve got a good dressing room. We think a lot about the game, we talk a lot about the game. I’m convinced this 12 we have here is the best 12 we have in this country at the moment for Test cricket and it’s going to take something from a few players to turn this around this week.”
It is possible however that within the confines of the dressing room, England’s batsmen are all too aware that Anderson and Broad think they do not score enough runs. Anderson hinted at this natural rift between batsmen and bowlers when asked if he was exasperated at lack of runs. “When we were No 1 in the world, we had a top six who all averaged 40 and we were getting 500 regularly. Players with 50-plus Tests. We’re a slightly different team at the moment, still trying to learn. We have the quality to be able to put 500 on the board and it is about going out and doing it.”
It might be a measure of how low England are sinking that Anderson did not rate the latest Lord’s defeat among the shockers he has known. “I certainly didn’t think it was one of the worst. I’ve been involved in a lot worse than that. It certainly wasn’t our best performance. I think it was quite blatant for everyone to see that we didn’t play well and Pakistan played extremely well. When that happens, you’re going to be on the back end of a heavy defeat, which we were.
“We didn’t play the situations well enough that we found ourselves in, and Pakistan did brilliantly all the way through the game. They put pressure on us with the ball, they were patient with the bat and scored when they had the opportunity. It’s quite simple: we need to perform better this week.”
Mohammad Amir, Anderson’s counterpart as leader of Pakistan’s attack, credited the Pakistan board for introducing the Duke ball into Pakistan’s first-class domestic tournament last winter so their batsmen could learn how to adjust to its movement.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket...ts-back-michael-vaughan-know-lengths-bowl-15/
Anderson, England’s Test vice-captain, also denied there was a problem with the Test team other than that they were “potentially low on confidence” after six defeats and no win in their past eight Tests, as well as refuting Michael Vaughan’s suggestion that Stuart Broad, or Anderson himself, should be dropped.
As England prepared to face Pakistan in the second Test, starting at Headingley tomorrow, Anderson, speaking in his quiet, very deliberate way that can be almost as menacing as his bouncer, said: “For me, I’d like to think that part of the skill of being a bowler is knowing what length on certain wickets you need to bowl.
“I didn’t bowl particularly well in that first spell [in the first Test at Lord’s] but bowled a couple of good spells from the Nursery End. I didn’t have my best game, I know that, but I’m aware of what lengths that need to be bowled on certain pitches,” he added pointedly.
“We watched Pakistan bowl at us and could see what lengths worked on that pitch, so it’s just something I’ll try and block out. Some people think they might know better than me but I’d like to think that, after 15 years of playing Test cricket, I know which lengths to bowl on certain pitches.”
He did not add that he had taken 535 more Test wickets than most of his critics.
“As well as taking in the conditions, you’ve got to take in the batsmen. Sometimes, I might operate where I start the batsman with a drive and try and tempt him into a loose shot. It’s about working the game out as well, about game management. It’s not as simple as saying ‘we’ve got to bowl fuller’ and just chucking it up there and get smashed everywhere and hope they edge one.
“There’s a bit more to it than that. There’s more to Test cricket. You’ve got to be patient. I’ve always looked at it as almost a game of chess. You’ve got to outmanoeuvre the batsman. You’ve got to lure him into a false sense of security if you can. For me, it’s more than just trying to throw it up there and nick one.”
Vaughan’s suggestion that Anderson or Broad should be dropped was given equally short shrift. “Obviously, I’m going to say no,” Anderson said.
“We’ve 950 Test wickets between us. We’re doing the best we can for this team. We’re trying to perform well enough to turn this team around. I know we’ve been on a really bad run of form this winter and the first Test here, and I think in these situations you need players to stand up and put in match-winning performances.
“People will piggyback on those sorts of performances. As I said, that’s all we can focus on. We’ll try to block out the noise from whoever is shouting out.”
Asked if there was a “fundamental problem” with England’s Test team, Anderson said: “I don’t think there is a problem. I just think we’re potentially low on confidence when we go out in the middle. We’ve got a good dressing room. We think a lot about the game, we talk a lot about the game. I’m convinced this 12 we have here is the best 12 we have in this country at the moment for Test cricket and it’s going to take something from a few players to turn this around this week.”
It is possible however that within the confines of the dressing room, England’s batsmen are all too aware that Anderson and Broad think they do not score enough runs. Anderson hinted at this natural rift between batsmen and bowlers when asked if he was exasperated at lack of runs. “When we were No 1 in the world, we had a top six who all averaged 40 and we were getting 500 regularly. Players with 50-plus Tests. We’re a slightly different team at the moment, still trying to learn. We have the quality to be able to put 500 on the board and it is about going out and doing it.”
It might be a measure of how low England are sinking that Anderson did not rate the latest Lord’s defeat among the shockers he has known. “I certainly didn’t think it was one of the worst. I’ve been involved in a lot worse than that. It certainly wasn’t our best performance. I think it was quite blatant for everyone to see that we didn’t play well and Pakistan played extremely well. When that happens, you’re going to be on the back end of a heavy defeat, which we were.
“We didn’t play the situations well enough that we found ourselves in, and Pakistan did brilliantly all the way through the game. They put pressure on us with the ball, they were patient with the bat and scored when they had the opportunity. It’s quite simple: we need to perform better this week.”
Mohammad Amir, Anderson’s counterpart as leader of Pakistan’s attack, credited the Pakistan board for introducing the Duke ball into Pakistan’s first-class domestic tournament last winter so their batsmen could learn how to adjust to its movement.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket...ts-back-michael-vaughan-know-lengths-bowl-15/
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