Michael Atherton said James Anderson has had “no impact” on the 2023 Ashes series, and that his decision not to retire leaves him “at the mercy of the selectors” in an interview before the start of play on day five at the Kia Oval.
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James Anderson has taken five wickets in the four Test matches he has played in the series. His average for the series is the highest of any England bowler and he has yet to pick up more than one wicket in an innings. He turned 41 on day four of the fifth Ashes Test match, but he has no immediate plans of retirement.
“He’s just had no impact,” said Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Cricket. “What’s been a puzzle is just the lack of movement there for him. This is one of the most skilful craftsmen that we’ve ever seen hold a red Dukes ball in his hand and it’s just not done anything for him. It hasn’t swung, he hasn’t found much reverse swing.
“Bazball in the last couple of years has generally been played on pretty flat pitches to aid the strength of England; the quick scoring, chasing runs down in the fourth innings: it doesn’t necessarily play to Anderson’s strengths. But even so, even without that movement, still to just take five wickets in the series is certainly not the standards that he’s come to expect of himself.”
After the second day’s play, Anderson had told the reporters that his lack of returns in the series did not mean he would retire. He repeated that decision on Sky Sports Cricket moments before Atherton’s comments: “I think I’m even more firm that I want to keep going. I’ve had a really disappointing series by my standards. I’ve not got the wickets that I would’ve expected of myself. I don’t think I’ve bowled particularly badly but I’ve just not felt like I’ve made an impact for the team that I would’ve liked and that I expect from myself.
“My body is fine, my skills are fine, I think I’m bowling well enough. But for me, with the break that we’ve got after this series, I want to go away and in my head I want to keep working at stuff and make sure I get back to where I know I can be. So having that hunger and that desire to go and do that I think that makes me feel like I want to keep going.”
England go into day five needing ten wickets to win the match and level the series. Australia reached 135-0 yesterday, with England’s attack looking unthreatening on a placid surface. Anderson bowled ten overs with figures of 0-34.
Josh Tongue was not selected for the Kia Oval Test match, despite impressing at Lord’s where he took five wickets in the match. He hasn’t featured for England since then, and Ollie Robinson has also not been part of the England attack since Headingley.
“You know it in your heart and your head whether you’ve still got that desire,” said Atherton. “So if he has, fair enough, but you do leave yourself at the mercy of the selectors then, and I don’t think sentiment then comes into it. Mark Taylor was talking about David Warner: he said it should be competitive, there should be people pushing for your place and obviously younger lads like Josh Tongue are around and pushing. So he will leave himself at the mercy of the selectors but it’s fair enough for him to say he wants to keep going.
“Tongue came in and had a good game at Lord’s and that was the question really. I thought it was absolutely fair enough for Anderson to be picked at Old Trafford. You would expect him to do well there. I think I probably would have stuck with him here although it was more questionable if Tongue was fresh, given that we’re right at the end of the series and an injection of fresh legs might have been useful. They didn’t go that way, it hasn’t paid off yet, who knows what a great bowler like him can do today.
