Anderson says he will be ready for Ashes opener

England fast bowler James Anderson says he has recovered from a groin injury and will be fit for the first Ashes Test against Australia next month.
England’s leading bowler in tests with 685 wickets, Anderson suffered the injury playing for Lancashire last week.
He is unlikely to play in the one-off Test against Ireland before the Ashes after the uncapped Josh Tongue was added to the squad.
“Yes, definitely,” Anderson, 40, told The Telegraph newspaper yesterday when asked if he would be fit for the opener against Australia at Edgbaston on June 16.
“I have no issues running and bowling again and just keeping my fingers crossed I can carry on going as I have been and will be ready for the Ashes.
“The idea is to try and step it up here at Lancashire over the next couple of days and then meet up with England on Sunday and see where I get to. I am in the squad for the Ireland Test but we have to make a call on that nearer to the time.”
Anderson’s availability is crucial for England, who are already without injured fast bowler Jofra Archer. Going into his 10th Ashes series, Test cricket’s third most prolific wicket-taker is confident England can take the urn off Australia for the first time since 2015. Particularly if they replicate the domineering style of play that has seen them win 10 of 12 Tests under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
“If you look at our team, if we play to the best of our ability with that mindset, I don’t think anyone can cope with us,” said Anderson. “So yes, I think we can win. “I feel like if we can keep the same mentality and the same sort of feeling in the dressing room we’ve had. It’s fairly relaxed, we’re trying to enjoy ourselves, we’re trying to entertain people, take the positive option.”
England lost 4-0 in the last Ashes series in Australia.
Jason Roy agrees termination of ECB contract to play in MLCBatsman Jason Roy has given up his incremental contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play in the inaugural edition of the United States’ new Twenty20 tournament – Major League Cricket (MLC).
Roy, who was an integral part of the England side which won the 2019 one-day World Cup, was dropped from a full contract to an incremental one in October.
The incremental contracts are given to players who may feature for England on a less predictable basis.
“The ECB have agreed for him to play in the competition (MLC) on the proviso that he gives up the remainder of his ECB incremental contract, which both parties have agreed to,” the ECB said yesterday. “The ECB wish to clarify that this decision will not affect Jason’s selection for England teams going forward. We have absolute confidence and faith that Jason is committed to England cricket.”
In a statement on social media, Roy said he would never “walk away from England”.
“I’ve had clear and supportive conversations with the ECB about participating in Major League Cricket. The ECB were happy with me to play in the competition as long as they didn’t have to pay me for the remainder of the contractual year,” Roy said.
“As a single format player with no central contract I wanted to take the opportunity to play this competition as there are currently no scheduling conflicts with England. It benefits me as an England player to play as much competitive cricket as possible.”