"Do you fancy going in and hitting the winning runs?" - James Anderson reveals Ben Stokes' plan to promote him up the order in IND vs ENG 5th Test
England pacer James Anderson claimed that captain Ben Stokes offered him the chance to finish the run chase against India in the rescheduled fifth Test. The hosts recorded their highest-ever run-chase by successfully scoring 378 at Edgbaston, Birmingham to draw the series 2-2 on July 7.
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow put up a historic 269-run partnership for the fourth wicket, recording their respective centuries in the process as well. However, England wanted the pair to carry on with an aggressive approach to finish the run chase before India took the new ball.
🤘
Rock & Roll Test Cricket 🎸🤘
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 https://t.co/gneNM0rqy3
Keeping that in mind, Ben Stokes suggested moving Stuart Broad up the order once again. However, with the Yorkshire pair still going strong and within touching distance of the target, the all-rounder offered the opportunity to James Anderson.
Revealing the plans in the dressing room regarding the batting order, the veteran pacer said on the Tailenders podcast:
“Because there was a new ball coming up, they thought, ‘Let’s try and finish it before the new ball. So if we lose a wicket, we’ll send Broady in and he can literally just try and hit every ball for six’. Between 67 and 75 overs or something like that. So then the deeper we got – I think it was about 20 runs left – Broady was like, ‘Right, that’s me done, someone else can can go in next’.”
Admitting that he found the idea of him going out to bat and finishing the innings as dicey, Anderson added:
“So then Stokesy comes up to me and said, ‘You’ve never hit the winning runs. So if we need four to win, and [Ravindra] Jadeja’s bowling for example, do you fancy going in and hitting the winning runs?’
Anderson continued:
"I just felt really uncomfortable with it. I thought it was a little bit too piss-takey. So I was like, ‘I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that’."
England eventually finished the run chase without any more casualties on the final day. Root and Bairstow helped the side cross the line in 76.4 overs, denying India the opportunity to attack with the new ball.
"We had no one padded up for the last 20 runs of that game" - James Anderson
With 119 runs required on the final day with seven wickets in hand, England expected an all-out onslaught by the Indian pacers. Despite the return of bleak cloud cover, Root and Bairstow dealt with the Indian bowling unit with ease. They finished the task inside the first session on Day 5.
It's been good to have you back, lads 🐐🐐
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 https://t.co/JdcMenaSQ7
Admitting that the dressing room knew that the in-form pair would finish things off for the hosts after one stage, Anderson said:
"Stuart Broad had decided he wasn’t going in, so he took his pads off. Sam Billings didn’t have his pads on. I wouldn’t put my pads on. And Ben Stokes also didn’t put his pads on. So we had no one padded up for the last 20 runs of that game. That’s how relaxed everyone was.”
England are yet to taste defeat in Ben Stokes' reign so far. Leading the side to a comprehensive 3-0 series win over New Zealand, the all-rounder went one step further to guide the team to a series-leveling win over India.