BIRMINGHAM, (Reuters) – Bowling 33 overs without success in England’s second test defeat by Australia at Lord’s knocked the confidence of paceman James Anderson who returned to form with a bang yesterday.
Anderson’s six for 47 helped dismiss the tourists for 136 on the first day of the third test at Edgbaston with England closing on 133-3 in reply to regain the momentum in an evenly-poised Ashes series.
“We thought it looked a good pitch, we were not expecting anywhere near the amount of seam movement early on. It was fortunate for us and the conditions we had throughout the day, with a bit of rain around, played into our hands,” Anderson told reporters.
Michael Clarke’s decision to bat with plenty of cloud cover spectacularly backfired as England’s fast bowlers had Australia on the rack.
Anderson, finding plenty of seam movement and swing, ran amok after lunch with four wickets in 19 balls and said bowling badly at Lord’s where Australia levelled the series had forced him to make adjustments.
England’s leading wicket taker in tests said working with bowling coach Ottis Gibson had paid dividends.
“It really helped, especially after a game when you don’t get any wickets.
“It was good to do some work with him and get some rewards out on the field. It was technical stuff — he thought I was just putting the ball there during the Lord’s game so I’ve worked on finishing my action a bit more.
“After getting no wickets the confidence takes a bit of a hit. It made me more determined to bowl better and get wickets. I knew I could bowl better than I did at Lord’s.”
Australia opener Chris Rogers was the only tourist to get to grips with the pitch, hitting a battling half-century.
“You get conditions like this and he (Anderson) comes into his own,” said Rogers, who was passed fit to play after recovering from dizzy spells he felt while batting at Lord’s.
“It was one of those innings you had to fight for everything. Tough conditions… didn’t expect as hard as they were.
“Cloud came over, it swung and seamed. I managed to get through and the others got some good balls and we probably played some disappointing shots.”
Rogers said Australia could not afford to let England build a decent lead.
“We need to restrict England here and when we get a chance we need to get in front of them to a point where we can put a lot of pressure on them in the fourth innings.”
