James Anderson, the leading wicket-taker among seamers in Test cricket, has opened up on his omission from the England side that toured the Caribbean in March 2022, an exclusion that left many perplexed.
Along with his long-time bowling partner Stuart Broad, Anderson was dropped from the squad that faced the West Indies. His absence was felt dearly as England lost the three-Test series 1-0, which closely followed their 4-0 loss to Australia in the Ashes. Anderson opened up on the axing and shed light on what he has been doing to come to grips with the decision.
“I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it and just put it to one side,” Anderson was quoted as saying. “It was completely out of my control. I’ve got to focus on what I can control and that is bowling as well as I possibly can. It feels a bit strange at the minute. I’m still centrally contracted but I’ve not had too much feedback from them because a lot is up in the air in terms of director of cricket and head coach. I have just been working with Glenn [Chapple, Lancashire’s head coach] and Sam [Byrne, physio] here, just trying to figure out what the best way forward is.”
The exclusion also brought to light the lack of communication Anderson and his fast-bowling partner Stuart Broad have had to endure. As things stand, no one has been installed as the managing director: something Anderson felt was probably why nothing was communicated.
“I’ve spoken to the head physio. There’s nobody in those positions permanently so I’m presuming that is why I’ve not heard anything. As I said, when those positions are filled, we’ll see. I would have loved more than a five-minute phone call, but again, that’s not always possible in these situations. It is what it is,” the pacer added.
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England’s red-ball reset has been much publicised after a woeful Ashes campaign. Anderson, however, admitted that he didn’t quite understand what the term, first mentioned by Joe Root after England were defeated in the MCG Ashes Test, actually meant.
“I still don’t really know what that means, really,” Anderson said. “I think after an Ashes defeat there is always a lot of focus on Test cricket. It is always the way but to be honest our Test form has been poor for two years. So it’s not a sudden Ashes defeat and it’s ‘we have to do something about it’. It has been a tough few years for us as a Test team. I think it is a natural thing that everything comes under scrutiny. I’m not too sure what the reset thing actually means.”
England’s next Test assignment comes during their home summer when they take on New Zealand. They will have their task cut out, though, considering they lost their most recent Test series to the Kiwis and because there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding England’s Test plans at the moment.
