The pitch in Edgbaston, according to Anderson, was so unresponsive that all of his efforts were ineffective despite his best efforts.
After Australia defeated the hosts in the opening Ashes Test by a narrow margin of two wickets, legendary England fast bowler James Anderson launched a vicious attack on the Edgbaston surface.
Anderson even went so far as to say that if the remaining four Tests’ pitches mirror this one in terms of being unresponsive for pacers, his Ashes career may be over.
“If every pitch is like that, I’m out of the Ashes series, he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column. “That pitch was my personal kryptonite. There wasn’t a lot of swing, reverse swing, seam movement, bounce, or pace, he claimed.”
The 40-year-old right-arm seamer, who needs 14 wickets to become the first fast bowler to amass 700 Test dismissals, was subpar in the Ashes opener. He toiled for 38 overs (both innings combined) in the entire Test match, but only managed to claim one wicket.
I’m aware that this week I didn’t perform at my best. My performance was not at my best, Anderson continued. Surprisingly, during the tense final hour of the first Test, when Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were squabbling in the middle, the legendary cricketer was not given the ball.
In the final few overs of Day 5, the England captain bowled Joe Root and himself with the old ball before turning to Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson with the new ball.
In the opening innings or toward the end of the final day, I didn’t take the new ball. Ben Stokes and I spoke about how I was feeling. We both agreed that it was the kind of pitch that the taller bowlers were benefiting from more. I agreed with that completely, Anderson wrote.
The all-time leading wicket-taker for England claimed that despite his best efforts, Edgbaston’s pitch was too unresponsive for swing bowling to produce the desired results.
Anderson: “You can’t win every game by getting wickets.” Over the years, I’ve tried to improve my game so that I can bowl in any situation, but nothing I did helped. I had the impression that I was struggling. Although there was some rust, I gave it my all. I understand now that you can’t take wickets every game after playing for so long. It’s not always your week. That’s how it appeared to me,” he admitted.
Strangely, Stokes was very clear at the start of the Ashes that he wanted batting-friendly pitches for the duration of the series so that his batters could keep playing aggressive cricket.
On the other hand, Anderson vowed to return in the upcoming games and help the team win.
“I hope I can contribute at some point in this lengthy series. I’m confident that I can benefit the team and provide more. I want to make up for it at Lord’s, but all I can do is show up on Sunday and get ready to play,” he wrote.”
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