England have decided to rest their spearhead James Anderson for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, starting December 8, as part of his workload management. The 39-year-old will be eyeing a return for the second Test, a pink-ball D/N affair in Adelaide, from next December 16.
The decision is not based on an injury or niggle, confirmed the England and Wales Cricket Board, but the workload as England approach a demanding away Ashes with five Tests cramped inside six weeks amid restrictive Covid-19 environment.
This means the first Test in Brisbane will now be the fifth successive Ashes Test that Anderson won’t take part in. The bowler went down with a calf injury in the 2019 opener in Edgbaston and didn’t recover for the rest of the series.
There were speculations then that this could be the end of Anderson’s illustrious career, but he has since taken 57 wickets from his 17 Tests at 23.43. The move for Anderson to avoid the Gabba could be tactical as well. He averages a disastrous 75.14 over four matches at the venue. In complete contrast to his exceptional record in Adelaide: 16 wickets at 29.50.
“Jimmy is fit to play, and is not carrying an injury. With five Tests in six weeks the plan was to get him ready for the second Test in Adelaide,”
an ECB statement said.
ECB confirmed the decision has been taken keeping everything in mind, with a significant factor being the lack of game time under Anderson’s belt since the end of the home summer back in September. Most of England’s pre-Ashes preparations, including two warm-up games, got jeopardised due to torrential rains in Brisbane.
Interestingly, however, Anderson will stay with the Test group at the Gabba rather than playing for the Lions and getting more overs in before the Adelaide Test.
“With the limited build-up we have had so far on the tour, both him and the management didn’t want to take the risk of him playing after what had happened in 2019 at Edgbaston, when he broke down on the first morning,”
the board statement mentioned.
“He bowled at full capacity yesterday for just short of an hour and was in a good place physically. He will do the same again today at practice. He will stay with the Test group this week and work with the coaches at the Gabba rather than playing for the Lions.”
Anderson missing the first Test puts the onus on England captain Joe Root and the management to identify his able replacement, with the likes of Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood yet to feature in a Test match in Australia and Chris Woakes, having a very poor record in the country.
On the high-pace but flattish Australian deck with the red kookaburra, England have historically found taking 20 wickets Down Under an arduous task. They average a horrendous 45.71 per wicket in their last 10 Tests in Australia, so there is no wonder then they’ve lost nine of those games.
But Root said he is “confident” of his team going out there and not looking short of skill and depth for the Australian conditions. He is also buoyed by the return of his premier allrounder Ben Stokes, who missed the second half of the home summer after opting for an indefinite break near the end of July to resolve his mental health concerns and also overcome a finger injury that he sustained at the start of the Indian leg of IPL 2021.
