James Anderson said the lifeless Edgbaston pitch in the Ashes opener was like “kryptonite” to him and fears he will be powerless to help England fight back against Australia if the surfaces in the remainder of the series are flat and slow.
Captain Ben Stokes had asked for “flat, fast wickets” for the series but seamer Stuart Broad described the Edgbaston surface as “soulless” and one of the slowest he had encountered in England.
Anderson acknowledged he was below his best in the opener, posting match figures of 1-109 on his return from a groin injury, but said the wicket had done him no favours.
“If all the pitches are like that I’m done in the Ashes series,” he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“That pitch was like kryptonite for me.
“There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace.
“I’ve tried over the years to hone my skills so I can bowl in any conditions but everything I tried made no difference.
“I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle. There was a bit of rustiness but I gave it everything I could.
“I know I have more to offer and contribute to the team. I want to make up for it at Lord’s.”
England declared on 393-8 on the first day and were in the driver’s seat for much of the match but Australia’s often cautious approach paid off as they claimed a two-wicket victory thanks to a 55-run ninth-wicket partnership between captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
Anderson, however, is confident that he will be better for the game-time, regardless of his disappointing showing.
“Having played for a long time, I realise you can’t take wickets every game. Sometimes it is not your week. It felt like that for me.
“I know I wasn’t on top of my game this week. It was not my best performance. I know I have more to offer and contribute to the team.
“The body felt quite good. There is some stiffness but I put that down to the unique conditions.
“We were running in on a very soft outfield then landing on a rock-hard pitch and that takes its toll on the body more than normal.
“All the bowlers were feeling that a bit.”
Despite the defeat, Anderson said there were plenty of positives to take into second Test at Lord’s, which begins on June 28.
“After day four (coach) Brendon McCullum said we had won already regardless of the result because of the reaction from people about the way we played, and the fact we had stuck to our style,” he added.
“It feels like the way we are playing is working.
“Obviously we know we want to win, we will be judged on the result, but as a team it is good that we are judging ourselves on our performance.”
England call up teenager Ahmed to Ashes squad
Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has been added to England’s squad for the second Ashes Test against Australia as cover for Moeen Ali.
Ahmed, 18, became the youngest man to play Test cricket for England when he was picked to play in Pakistan in December. The Leicestershire player made an eye-catching debut for Ben Stokes’s side in Karachi, taking seven wickets in the match and 5-48 in the second innings. But Ahmed has taken just six wickets in seven matches in the second division of the County Championship this season, at an average of more than 67.
Off-spinning all-rounder Moeen struggled with a finger blister in the dramatic first Test at Edgbaston, which Australia won by two wickets.
The 36-year-old, who was playing in his first Test for two years, still hopes to be fit for the second Test at Lord’s, starting on Wednesday. There is also the possibility that England will select a four-man seam attack.