Melbourne: England’s bowlers do not deserve to shoulder all of the blame for defeat in the second Ashes test, veteran seamer James Anderson said, following criticism from captain Joe Root that the attack should have bowled a fuller length.
After being thrashed by nine wickets in the Brisbane opener, England lost by 275 runs in Adelaide to trail 2-0 in the five-match series, with the third Test set to start in Melbourne tomorrow.
Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, said the side had to improve with the bat after being bowled out for 236 and 192 at Adelaide Oval. The tourists did not fare much better in the opener, bowled out for 147 and 297 at the Gabba.
“We did not bat well enough on a pitch where the data said it was one of the flattest Adelaide surfaces ever produced and the pink ball did the least it has ever done in a day-night game,” Anderson, 39, wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
“From a bowlers’ point of view you want to be hitting the right lengths all the time. We did our best on the first two days to do that... Maybe we could have gone a touch fuller at times but we still created quite a few chances that were not taken.
“We have to be better at assessing it during a game. We can’t just go after the game, ‘we should have bowled fuller’... We have to be a bit more proactive at that too as a whole group.”
Meanwhile all-rounder Cameron Green said yesterday Australia are expecting a spirited response from England in the third Ashes Test after losing the opening two matches in the series but the hosts will be ready for anything Joe Root’s men can throw at them.
“Not saying that the performances weren’t good, they had really good moments and we know how good they are and obviously a world class team, world class players. We played really well the last couple of matches, we’re sure they’ll bounce back really hard.”
Green said it was important to put the series to bed as quickly as possible as it was dangerous to give England the slightest encouragement.
“You never want to let a world class team like England back into the series so if we can keep on top... that’s what we are looking for,” he added.
