"I'm done with Ashes if…": James Anderson makes big statement ahead of 2nd test at Lord's

James Anderson is just 14 wickets away from becoming first fast bowler to pick 700 test wickets.

England’s legendary pace bowler James Anderson has slammed the Edgbaston pitch after England lost the first test by 2 wickets. James Anderson picked up only one wicket in the entire game and was wicketless in the second innings. In his opinion piece in Daily Telegraph Anderson slammed the wicket and termed it ‘kryptonite’. Anderson also claimed that his Ashes career might be over if the same kind of tracks are given in the upcoming remaining four test matches. Earlier England’s captain Ben Stokes revealed that England were looking for flat pitches to suit their plans. Almost 41 years old, James Anderson could be looking at the possible end of his playing career. 

James Anderson slams Edgbaston wicket

England pacer James Anderson wrote in his column in Daily Telegraph, “If all the pitches are like that I am done in the Ashes series… That pitch was like kryptonite for me. There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace”. He further explained about his performance, “I know I was not on top of my game this week. It was not my best performance… I didn’t take the new ball in the first inning or late on the final day. I had a chat with Ben Stokes about how I felt. We agreed it was the type of pitch the taller bowlers were getting more out of it. I was completely on board with that”. 

James Anderson needs 14 wickets to complete 700 test wickets in his career and become only the third bowler in the world to touch the milestone. Anderson struggled to pick wickets in the first test and was wicketless apart from the day 3 morning session. Anderson’s swing was not as lethal as it should have been.

England skipper Ben Stokes at the beginning of the Ashes series batted for a flat and batting wicket throughout the five tests. Edgbaston wicket assisted both pacers and spinners, Broad, Robinson, and Cummins all looked threatening with the bounce they were getting from the wicket, while Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali used the dryness of the wicket in the last two days.