Sport Cricket
England confront
grim reality of life
without Anderson
England will learn what a future
without James Anderson looks like
next week when they play Australia
at Lord’s.
Anderson has played a Lord’s
Test every year since 2007 but it
was confirmed yesterday he would
not be fit to face Australia from next
Wednesday and no date was put on
his return. England are not divulg-
ing the extent of the injury to his
right calf, but concern is mounting
that, at 37, they might have seen the
last of their greatest-ever bowler.
Anderson will be desperate to be
back in time to play the fourth Test
at his beloved Old Trafford, which
starts on Sept 4. “I certainly have no
intention of giving up,” he says in
his column in The Sun today.
But having made a major error at
Edgbaston, when England let him
play even though he had not proved
his fitness in a match, Anderson
will have to bowl for Lancashire be-
fore being considered. His word
that he is fit, which was deemed
good enough at Edgbaston, will not
be sufficient this time.
Losing him after four overs cost
England the game and Joe Root, the
captain, was being overly protec-
tive of those who made the decision
when he said it was just a “freak”
that he suffered a relapse. Ander-
son is a forceful personality, and his
opinion on his own fitness would
have carried a lot of weight, more
than that of cautious medical staff
who clashed with him in the past
over a mysterious shoulder injury
that took years to diagnose.
“I’d done all the training and cor-
rect rehab going into the match,”
Anderson explains in his Sun col-
umn. “In my head, I was fit to play
an Ashes Test. I’ve played in Test
matches before after injury with-
out first playing a county game or
warm-up of some sort.”
England were desperate to be-
lieve him as well. The four overs he
bowled in Birmingham were a
masterclass and Australia opener
Cameron Bancroft had no idea
which way the ball was moving.
Those 24 balls showed that a fit
Anderson could be the difference
between England winning and
losing, which is why they have to
ensure they are still in the series
when he can be considered for
selection again.
The county schedule works
against Anderson. Lancashire’s
next championship match, against
Glamorgan, starts on Aug 18 and
finishes the day before the third
Test at Headingley. Two second XI
friendlies late in the month offer
opportunities for a game and he
could play for Derbyshire on loan
against Australia on Aug 29, but he
would not want to face the tourists
in an effort to prove his fitness.
Anderson has defied age by im-
proving in recent seasons. Since
2013, when he averaged 31, he has
had five outstanding years. It leaves
Root contemplating how
to beat Australia
without the manNick Hoult
CRICKET NEWS
CORRESPONDENT
Bowler misses Lord’s
but targets Old Trafford
‘In my head I was fit to
play in the opening Test’
Archer should have
By Calum Trenaman
at Blackstone Academy Ground,
Woodmancote, West SussexJason Gillespie, the former Aus-
tralia bowler who coaches Sussex,
has said “England missed a trick”
by not playing Jofra Archer for the
first Ashes Test at Edgbaston and
that “he must play” in the second
Test at Lord’s.
Archer demonstrated his impres-
sive credentials yesterday in a
fitness-proving match for Sussex
2nd XI against Gloucestershire 2nd
XI, taking six wickets and scoring
108 off 99 balls.
Yet prior to the first Test, there
had been doubts about whether
Archer was fully fit after sustaining
a side strain during the World Cup.
Gillespie thought otherwise. “He
should have played,” Gillespie toldTalksport. “All this stuff about his
side, look, he’s 100 per cent fit, he’s
fine and ready to go.”
Gillespie suggested Archer may
have been left out due to doubts
surrounding his lack of red-ball ex-
perience. “[England] thought he’d
not played enough red-ball cricket
but the same people were saying he
hadn’t played enough 50-over
cricket and he’s gone and been the
leading [England] wicket-taker in
the World Cup.”
Archer took the most wickets of
any England bowler with 21 but
Gillespie believes Archer is even
better at red-ball cricket.
“He’s got pace, bounce, move-
ment off the seam, through the air.
Four-day cricket, five-day cricket is
his best format to appreciate how
good he is.”
While the setting was a world
away from bowling the World CupSetback: James Anderson struggles
with his injured calf at Edgbastonnt this time.
im after four overs cost
e game and Joe Root, the
as being overly protec-
e who made the decision
aid it was just a “freak”proving in recent seasons. Since
2013, when he averaged 31, he has
had five outstanding years. It leaves
Root contemplating how
to beat Australia
without the manSetback: James An
with his injured cawho has taken 103 wickets at Lord’s
and who has been so important to
their success at home in recent
years. Without him, Root has to
look to Chris Woakes and hope he
can defy exhaustion from the
World Cup.
Stuart Broad’s place is now safe,
but can he summon one more
match-winning spell? If the pitch is
low and slow like it has been for
previous Lord’s Tests and the
World Cup final, England will be in
trouble. It was obvious at Edgbaston
they need grassy pitches with
lateral movement to compete and
then hope their batsmen can
scramble enough runs.
Jofra Archer’s return for Sussex
second XI yesterday was encourag-
ing and he will play at Lord’s
barring any breakdown and Sam
Curran’s left-arm swing offers a
point of difference. Root wanted a
genuine pace bowler in his side,
having seen the way Mark Wood
changed February’s Test in St Lucia
with one spell. But when Archer
was injured Root went against his
instincts and turned to the old
guard of Anderson, Broad and
Woakes. England felt it was too
early to pick Olly Stone but, with-
out any genuine pace, their attack
was one-dimensional.
Woakes also needs careful
managing. He did not bowl on the
fourth morning as Australia
stretched their lead, with England
conscious of the number of overs
he had bowled during the World
Cup, in the one-off Test with Ire-
land and in Australia’s first innings.
Woakes has a chronic right knee
injury. His record at Lord’s
is outstanding, and Root
needs him to put his
body on the line to
help level the series.
With Wood out for the
summer because of
side and knee injuries,
there is little back-up
beyond those on duty
next week, a sharp con-
trast to Australia, who
have been able to hold back
Mitchell Starc and Josh Ha-
zlewood and rotate their
bowlers.
Trevor Bayliss, the England
coach, said: “Woody’s injured
at the moment, but some of
those guys are very close to se-
lection, and that’s what we’ve
been waiting for.”
“I would have liked to have
seen a bit more live green grass
on the wicket to get the ball to
move sideways, whether it’s
swing or seam. I think we saw in
the first innings it did move side-
ways a bit and we had them in
trouble eight down.”Anderson is getting better with age – his average and economy rate have
steadily improved and his wicket-taking has remained consistent. England's
home record is also significantly better with him in the team.England’s Test win % at home since 2007
With Anderson Without AndersonTest wickets by year0 wickets 10 20 30 40 50 602019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200302040Test bowling average75 Tests 149Swing king What England will miss
12 ** Wednesday 7 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS