James Anderson has finally opened up on why he reacted angrily at the bouncer barrage that Jasprit Bumrah delivered in the Lord’s Test.
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When James Anderson came out to bat in the Lord’s Test against India, England had taken a small lead against Virat Kohli’s team. Joe Root was in brilliant form as he notched up his second consecutive century. However, the match was slowly changing when James Anderson came out to bat. Jasprit Bumrah, on a slow pitch, suddenly cranked up the pace and delivered a bouncer barrage at Anderson. Bumrah also bowled a large number of no-balls, prolonging the over and also making Anderson very uncomfortable.
The end of the innings saw Anderson having an altercation with Bumrah and Virat Kohli. The England pacer was furious about the ploy to bowl short at him. Finally, in the show Tailender Podcast, Anderson has revealed what made him angry at the Indian players.
Revealing his mindset at that time, Anderson said, “I got caught off guard a little bit because all the batters coming in were saying how slow the pitch was. Banged in short; it was really slow. When I came out to bat, Joe said Bumrah was not bowling as quick as he normally does. And then, the first ball was 90 miles an hour and on the money, wasn’t it? And it felt like I haven’t felt like this ever in my career. I felt he wasn’t trying to get me out. He bowled an over, maybe 10, 11, 12 balls. He was bowling no-ball after no-ball, bowling short. I think he bowled two on the stumps, which I managed to dig out. So for me, it was just about trying to survive that and get Joe back on strike.”
Bumrah bowled a lot of no-balls in the Lord’s Test. Many thought that it was a ploy to keep Anderson on strike and ensure Root did not get strike. The bouncer barrage changed the complexion of the match. The Indian cricket team were on the offensive and their aggression reached another level altogether. India won the match and it was only their third win in Lord’s.
With Stuart Broad out of the series and with the rest of the bowlers not having enough penetration, the onus is now on James Anderson to deliver the goods for England. Anderson took a five-wicket haul in Lord’s and he has a great record in Leeds, having taken 10/45 a couple of years ago against Sri Lanka.
The performance of the England cricket team continues their poor run in 2021. After winning the series in Sri Lanka, England lost the series 3-1 in India on rank-turners. However, England had to face even more humiliation when they lost the series to New Zealand at home for the first time after 22 years. With the loss at Lord’s, England will be hoping to get back on track in the third Test. A loss will mean England will not win a series at home against India for the first time in 14 years.
A home series loss against India will not put them in a good mindset heading into the Ashes in 2021 Down Under. England has not won a series in Australia since 2010/11. In the last 10 years, England have lost nine out of 10 Tests in Australia. They have also not won the Ashes since 2015.
