James Anderson and Stuart Broad
Veteran England pacer and the nation's highest Test wicket-taker James Anderson on Wednesday admitted that he would like to bowl alongside Stuart Broad in the third and final Test of the three-match series against West Indes which begins from Friday onwards at the Old Trafford Cricket ground in Manchester.
England will be in for a tough choice to decide their pace attack for the series decider with the likes of Anderson, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer looking to return to the playing XI. While in the second Test, Broad, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes returned with impressive results which played a key role in the team's 113-run series-levelling win in Manchester on Monday.
With the decider and three more Tests, against the Pakistan team, left to go, England will be looking to rotate their pacers properly in a bid to avoid workload.
“I presume the best three players will play but it’s going to be a difficult decision for Joe and Chris and there will be some disappointed guys,” Anderson told a news conference on Wednesday.
The pair of Anderson and Broad have been the usual suspects in England's home wins for quite some period now, but many reckon that the two might to bowl together again, especially after the Southampton decision. But Anderson hopes that is not the case.
“Our record together speaks for itself and I’d really like to think that if we are both fit and England are picking their best bowling attack then we’d both be in that,” he said.
“It’s a good position to be in because it shows we have strength in depth,” Anderson added.
Anderson, however, revealed that the pacers are feeling a bit of stiffness after the Manchester Test.
“There is a bit of stiffness with the bowlers but that’s inevitable,” Anderson said.
“It’s about being smart with the practice now and going into Friday really fresh.
“We have a great opportunity to win the series and we want to kick on from last test’s win. If we keep looking to improve I’m sure we’ll put in another good performance this week.”
