After a frustrating World Cup, the pace bowler has his and England's sights set on the No1 spot
Jimmy Anderson will be making two appearances for Lancashire before he turns his attention to Sri Lanka and India. Tom Shaw/Getty Images
On Wednesday morning at Edgbaston, toss permitting, James Anderson hopes to curl his fingers around a new, red cricket ball for the first time in four months, and begin the next phase in his bid to ascend to the top of the ICC Test world bowling rankings.
When Anderson last played a first-class match, he – and England – were on top of the world. Just before midday on 7 January in Sydney, he took the penultimate wicket of the Ashes triumph, his 24th of the series. All that with Kookaburra balls, the ones with which Anderson was widely tipped to struggle.
It clearly rankles that the achievement was ever so slightly tarnished by the scheduling that condemned an exhausted Anderson to a World Cup pasting with white balls on the subcontinent in the months that followed.
But now he has had a proper break at home in Cheshire to confront the sleep-deprived reality of being a father of two, and is relishing the prospect of contributing to Lancashire's early season momentum with a couple of appearances in the County Championship before the opportunity to take revenge against the batsmen of Sri Lanka and India in the more helpful conditions of an English summer.
"I can't wait," he says on the way to Westhoughton, a smart new ground between Bolton and Wigan, where Anderson spent the morning of the royal wedding practising with Lancashire's second team. "That wasn't me at the World Cup. It was just a very frustrating time for me. I didn't feel I was in a position to play to the standard I'm capable of. My body just didn't feel right.
"Talking to the physios and the coaches that's not surprising – they reckoned that when you include practice sessions and warm-up matches and everything else, I bowled about 500 overs out in Australia – that's the most I've ever bowled over that period of time. As the Ashes was going along I didn't really feel any effects, but afterwards there was probably bound to be a bit of a comedown. I felt mentally refreshed [having been given a 10-day break at home with his wife and their new baby after the Ashes] but my body just hadn't recovered.
"But I don't want to read too much into it. I'm pretty sure it was down to fatigue. It's felt OK again since I've started bowling again with Lancashire. I had about four weeks off in all, maybe even five. I didn't even do any sponsor things or media or anything, just a complete break, and spent plenty of time with the family, and the new routine."
Anderson shares the determination of Alastair Cook that no England team should be asked to endure such a winter again – although he falls short of the warning of future strike action that has been attributed to Cook.
"It's not just the players, I saw Geoff Miller [the national selector] saying the same thing the other day," he says. "It definitely needs to be looked at. We're the only country playing through the northern hemisphere summer, which means in a winter like the one we've just had, we're the only team playing all year round. It can have a real effect on people's careers with injuries and fatigue. I know for certain that if the ICC don't look at the scheduling then the ECB will have to look at a rotation policy, and I don't think anyone really wants that because you want teams picking their best players."
It seems a shame to ask Anderson first about his recent trials when he has not really had chance to dwell publicly on his triumphant first half of the winter. "People do still come up and say well done, even after what happened in the World Cup," he says. "It has taken a bit of the gloss off; I won't lie to you. But it's not completely washed it from people's memories, hopefully, because it's certainly the best tour and series I've been involved with.
"To take 24 wickets in such a big series; I'll struggle to beat that. But there isn't really one single wicket or performance or match that stands out above all the others – the thing that will stick with me forever is being part of the team that played out there and will always have the memories of an unbelievable tour. Right from the first day we got there, to sitting on the outfield at Sydney when it had finished, having a beer – I'll never forget that feeling."
How hard will it be to replicate that team spirit, and intensity, in a home series against a below-strength Sri Lanka? "We want to be the No1 Test country in the world, and I want to be the No1 bowler in the world," he says – both Anderson and England are currently ranked third, in his case behind Graeme Swann and Dale Steyn. "To do that you've got to be on top of your game for a sustained period of time."
Source: http://crickzone.com/page/cricket-news
When Anderson last played a first-class match, he – and England – were on top of the world. Just before midday on 7 January in Sydney, he took the penultimate wicket of the Ashes triumph, his 24th of the series. All that with Kookaburra balls, the ones with which Anderson was widely tipped to struggle.
It clearly rankles that the achievement was ever so slightly tarnished by the scheduling that condemned an exhausted Anderson to a World Cup pasting with white balls on the subcontinent in the months that followed.
But now he has had a proper break at home in Cheshire to confront the sleep-deprived reality of being a father of two, and is relishing the prospect of contributing to Lancashire's early season momentum with a couple of appearances in the County Championship before the opportunity to take revenge against the batsmen of Sri Lanka and India in the more helpful conditions of an English summer.
"I can't wait," he says on the way to Westhoughton, a smart new ground between Bolton and Wigan, where Anderson spent the morning of the royal wedding practising with Lancashire's second team. "That wasn't me at the World Cup. It was just a very frustrating time for me. I didn't feel I was in a position to play to the standard I'm capable of. My body just didn't feel right.
"Talking to the physios and the coaches that's not surprising – they reckoned that when you include practice sessions and warm-up matches and everything else, I bowled about 500 overs out in Australia – that's the most I've ever bowled over that period of time. As the Ashes was going along I didn't really feel any effects, but afterwards there was probably bound to be a bit of a comedown. I felt mentally refreshed [having been given a 10-day break at home with his wife and their new baby after the Ashes] but my body just hadn't recovered.
"But I don't want to read too much into it. I'm pretty sure it was down to fatigue. It's felt OK again since I've started bowling again with Lancashire. I had about four weeks off in all, maybe even five. I didn't even do any sponsor things or media or anything, just a complete break, and spent plenty of time with the family, and the new routine."
Anderson shares the determination of Alastair Cook that no England team should be asked to endure such a winter again – although he falls short of the warning of future strike action that has been attributed to Cook.
"It's not just the players, I saw Geoff Miller [the national selector] saying the same thing the other day," he says. "It definitely needs to be looked at. We're the only country playing through the northern hemisphere summer, which means in a winter like the one we've just had, we're the only team playing all year round. It can have a real effect on people's careers with injuries and fatigue. I know for certain that if the ICC don't look at the scheduling then the ECB will have to look at a rotation policy, and I don't think anyone really wants that because you want teams picking their best players."
It seems a shame to ask Anderson first about his recent trials when he has not really had chance to dwell publicly on his triumphant first half of the winter. "People do still come up and say well done, even after what happened in the World Cup," he says. "It has taken a bit of the gloss off; I won't lie to you. But it's not completely washed it from people's memories, hopefully, because it's certainly the best tour and series I've been involved with.
"To take 24 wickets in such a big series; I'll struggle to beat that. But there isn't really one single wicket or performance or match that stands out above all the others – the thing that will stick with me forever is being part of the team that played out there and will always have the memories of an unbelievable tour. Right from the first day we got there, to sitting on the outfield at Sydney when it had finished, having a beer – I'll never forget that feeling."
How hard will it be to replicate that team spirit, and intensity, in a home series against a below-strength Sri Lanka? "We want to be the No1 Test country in the world, and I want to be the No1 bowler in the world," he says – both Anderson and England are currently ranked third, in his case behind Graeme Swann and Dale Steyn. "To do that you've got to be on top of your game for a sustained period of time."
Source: http://crickzone.com/page/cricket-news
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