Stokes absence no distraction from Ashes: Anderson

England are focused on getting the best out of their players and beating Australia during the Ashes tour and will not be distracted by the absence of all-rounder Ben Stokes, seamer James Anderson has said.Stokes is among England’s key match-winners but it is uncertain whether the 26-year-old will be available after he and teammate Alex Hales were arrested following an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub last month and released under investigation.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspended both players following the incident and are yet to make a decision regarding their participation on the tour as England aim to win their first Ashes title in Australia since 2011.“When we won the Ashes in 2010/11, we didn’t win it with 11 players — we won with 13/14/15 players,” Anderson told Sky Sports News.“The biggest thing for us is we get 15 or 16 players to be on top of their game when we get to Australia and be able to perform for our team.“Once we get there, the only focus will be beating Australia... It’s just a case of being strong enough and having that tunnel vision to focus on the individual and as a team and what will help the team win the series.”Anderson, 35, reclaimed his number one ranking in test matches as he helped England seal a series win over West Indies last month.“My own focus will be on my bowling and what I can do to help the team and I’m sure all the other individuals in the side will do that. If we can do that then I’m sure we’ll galvanise and put in a strong performance,” Anderson added.The first of the five-test Ashes series starts on November 23 in Brisbane.Australia’s Pattinson ruled out of AshesInjury-prone James Pattinson has been ruled out of the Ashes series with England after aggravating a lower back stress fracture, dealing Australia’s fast bowling stocks a blow.It is the same problem that kept the 27-year-old out of Australia’s recent tour to Bangladesh, and he will now take an indefinite break to fully recover.“Obviously I am extremely disappointed with this setback after just getting back into a good run of playing cricket,” Pattinson said in a statement late Wednesday.“I’m especially disappointed to miss out on the possibility to play in a home Ashes series.“Over the next few weeks I will discuss all available options available to me with medical staff, to work out the best plan to prevent this from happening again.”Injuries have limited Pattinson to 17 Tests since his 2011 debut against New Zealand and he has not played since July 1 when he represented Nottinghamshire in the final of England’s one-day tournament against Surrey at Lord’s.His absence leaves Mitchell Starc to lead the Australian attack alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, with Nathan Coulter-Nile or Jackson Bird likely to be a fourth option.