James Anderson expresses unhappiness with pitches during the Ashes
England pacer James Anderson has claimed the pitches in England during the Ashes have suited the Australians better. He also believes that the groundsmen shouldn’t be afraid of exploiting the home conditions in a more fruitful manner. The Australians have already retained the urn after a commanding victory at Old Trafford which gave them a 2-1 series lead.
Advocates seamer-friendly pitches
The pitches so far during the Ashes has had a much lesser covering of grass, as compared to what was witnessed in the past couple of years. This may well have been a conscious tactic from England, considering the quality which the Australian pace battery posses. But Anderson was adamant that the pitches should have aided the quicker bowlers much better.
He said in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo:
“I think they’ve (the pitches) probably suited Australia more than us. I would have liked to have seen a bit more grass but that’s the nature of the game here. When you’re selling out – like Lancashire selling out five days of Test cricket – it’s hard not to produce a flat deck but, you know, that’s one of the frustrations from a player’s point of view. We go to Australia and get pitches that suit them. They come over here and get pitches that suit them. It doesn’t seem quite right.”
Anderson also pointed out how other countries make better use of the home advantage. He also praised the surfaces which were produced last summer in the series against India:
“I thought they were good pitches here against India [last year]. I thought they weren’t green seamers but I thought they suited us more than India. We as a country don’t use home advantage enough. When you go to Australia, go to India, Sri Lanka, they prepare pitches that suit them. I feel like we could just be a little bit more biased towards our own team.”
No plans to retire
Anderson could only bowl 4 overs in the opening Test of the series at Edgbaston. He limped off the field before eventually being ruled of the entire duration of the series. But despite being in the twilight of his career, Anderson has no plans to retire. He is now preparing to be fit for the two-Test series against New Zealand in November.
Anderson said:
“I’m going to look at every possible thing I can to make sure I can play for as long as possible. I’ll look at how other sportspeople have done it throughout their careers to keep going into their late 30s. Whether there’s anything specific I can do, diet, gym programme, supplements, whatever it might be. Because I’ve still got a real hunger and desire to play cricket. I still love the game and still feel like I can offer something to this team and still have the skills and can bowl quick enough to have a positive effect.”
The fifth and the final Test match of the Ashes will begin at the Oval on 10th September. While England will have pride to play for, Australia will aim to seal a historic series victory at the home of their arch-rivals.
