England seamer James Anderson thinks he can be death-bowling star at World Cup
Fast bowler says his country can win 2015 tournament
Monday 10 November 2014 10:57, UK
James Anderson’s feelings on Star Wars are unclear – but he is certain that he wants to be England’s Death Star.
In George Lucas’ cosmic film franchise, The Death Star spacecraft is capable of obliterating planets with its super-laser – and Anderson reckons he can be just as lethal when bowling at the end of a one-day innings.
It is a real challenge bowling at the end of an innings and while I think I have a lot of the skills already, I want to get better at it.
The 32-year-old will not get that chance in the 50-over showdowns with Sri Lanka later this month and early next as he stays at home to continue his recuperation from a knee injury.
But Anderson says he would love the chance to be England’s go-to man in the pressure-cooker environment of the closing overs once he is back on the field.
“We need to improve our death bowling as a team and I want to improve mine as a player,” Anderson, who has taken 257 wickets in his 184 ODIs for England, told Sky Sports.
“It is a real challenge bowling at the end of an innings and while I think I have a lot of the skills already, I want to get better at it and be a key guy at the end of the game for England.
“There is a lot of pressure on at that time but it’s really exciting, too, and I would like to see out a few games.
“I think with the way batsmen have changed their games – and the way they are expecting yorkers – you have to mix it up or you risk becoming predictable.
“So I reckon you need six or seven variations at the end of a game and to have plans for each and every individual batsman.
“Some are stronger at the death than others so you’ve got to try and work out where to get them out – and I know I can do that.”
Wins
While Anderson focusses on getting back to full health – and watches his beloved Burnley try to preserve their Premier League status – his England colleagues will be locking horns with Sri Lanka in seven 50-over contests, the first of which takes place in Colombo on November 26.
The seamer believes the trip to the subcontinent will act as a bonding exercise as well as a cricketing one for Alastair Cook’s side, for whom James Taylor (Nottinghamshire) and Ravi Bopara (Essex) have earned recalls.
But Anderson is also looking forward to seeing captain Cook and his new, swashbuckling opening partner Alex Hales give England’s middle-order bludgeoners a platform to grab victories.
“We have got a youngish side so we need to gel a little bit more as a team and think this tour will help the boys do that,” said the quick, who debuted for England in an ODI against Australia in Melbourne in December 2002.
“Hopefully we can also find some form and get wins under our belt and I think we are in good shape with Cook and Hales, which looks to me like a really exciting partnership.
“We have got some really talented guys in our batting department, especially Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, who can win big games for us as the back-end of the innings.
“So if we can build a base up front I think we will do well.”
Carrot
Anderson admits that Test cricket is often seen as the pinnacle of the sport in England but insists the players remain just as passionate about succeeding in the shorter forms.
The one-day arena is certainly the priority for Anderson and co at the moment, with their Sri Lankan sojourn followed by a Tri-Series with Australia and India Down Under in January and then the 2015 World Cup in February and March.
And the swing-bowling supremo says he and his team-mates are capable of capping that run by becoming world champions.
“There’s always a big challenge of trying not to place one format ahead of the other, but I suppose in England that Test cricket is given more stature than the other stuff,” added Anderson, who is just three shy of Sir Ian Botham (383) as England’s leading Test wicket taker of all time.
“But from a players’ point of view we love playing one-day cricket and the next few months will be really exciting.
“Our one-day form in the summer wasn’t great, though we did show glimpses of being a good team and the World Cup is a competition we really want to win.
“No England team has won a world competition in the 50-over format so there’s a big carrot there and I think we’ve got as good a chance as any anyone to win it.
“We know it’s going to be a tough ask but if we get on a run over there you never know what might happen.
“It would be huge if we did it.”
