"It was very disappointing not to play the first Test" - James Anderson on Ashes disappointment
Veteran England seamer James Anderson has expressed his disappointment over not playing the first Ashes Test at the Gabba. Anderson, almost certain to play the second Test in Adelaide, said he can't wait to have the pink ball in his hand.
Anderson and Stuart Broad were significant omissions from the Gabba Test, which England lost by nine wickets. The management wanted to keep the decorated pair fresh for the day-night Test as the tourists hope to level the series.
๐ Pink-ball Test in Adelaide
#Ashes | ๐ฆ๐บ #AUSvENG ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ https://t.co/RrQQ2bv2x4
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, James Anderson admitted that he was keen to bowl on the green wicket in Brisbane. Recalling that the pitch at the Gabba looked like an English county deck, the 39-year old wrote:
"It was very disappointing not to play the first Test. My fingers were twitching when I saw the pitch. It was underprepared. The initial thought as a seamer is you would love to play on that. I had never seen a pitch like that in Brisbane. Normally you never see a blade of grass there but last week it was green, it looked like a traditional county pitch to be honest."
Anderson added that he doesn't want to brood over the loss and is instead looking ahead to the next match.
"But I have learned to see the bigger picture now," he wrote. "The same for Stuart Broad. We know from experience that there is no point in moping around and not pulling our weight. There was a bit of chat between us about the pitch and how much we would have enjoyed bowling on it but it was all irrelevant."
The Lancashire-born seamer is likely to come in for either Jack Leach or Chris Woakes for the pink-ball Test. A veteran of 166 Tests, Anderson will be hoping to give England the edge they require in their bowling attack that went missing in the first Test.
"I am definitely ready this week and fully prepared for Test match bowling" - James Anderson
Anderson also wrote that he and Broad toiled hard in the nets at the Gabba with the pink ball, hoping to make an impact. However, the 39-year-old expects the ball not to play any magic.
"Instead we bowled long periods in the nets at the Gabba with the pink ball and I am definitely ready this week and fully prepared for Test match bowling," he wrote. "The pink ball was temperamental in the nets. The first session with it, the ball swung around corners but it was 10.30am in the morning so pretty irrelevant because we are starting in Adelaide at 2.30pm. We came back at lunchtime. It was 12.30pm-1pm and the ball did a lot less."
Anderson also noted that David Warner's triple century at the venue a couple of years ago bears testimony to how good the wicket will be.
"We have to be good enough to control things in the day and wait for it to start moving around a bit more," he wrote. "I expect it to be a good pitch for batting, much better than Brisbane. I watched the Pakistan Test a couple of years ago when David Warner scored a triple hundred which proves what a good wicket it is to bat, so assuming the ball will swing around corners is naive."
The second Test begins on Thursday as Australia hope to maintain their stronghold on the urn.