Ahead of what is likely to be another heated Ashes series James Anderson says he has cooled his own fiery approach
Interview by George Dobell30-Jun-20151:32
James Anderson v George Dobell – How will ESPNcricinfo’s senior correspondent get on in the nets?
Were you surprised by Craig Kieswetter’s comments about cliques in the England dressing room?
I don’t really understand what he is getting at. Sometimes we split the warm-ups into North v South. Does that make southerners feel picked on? I’m not South African, so it’s hard for me to say. If he felt like that, it’s a real shame. There was never a conscious effort to try and separate. We’re all trying to do the same job; we’re all playing for the same team. It doesn’t matter where you’re born.The period when Craig played, Andy Flower was coach. And the stuff in Kevin Pietersen’s book about Flower was very harsh. I’ve not read it, but I know what he said about Flower. It was one of the most successful periods in English cricket there ever has been and I think it’s really unfortunate that his tenure has been tarnished in such a way. My game improved massively under him and I have such fond memories of that period.I just think that some things should be kept sacred. That dressing room stuff shouldn’t be out in the open. I honestly think that, as an England player, I’m an ambassador for English cricket. That’s what you become when you play for England. You should be positive about it. You should promote England. And it shouldn’t stop when you finish playing. It should continue when you go into the commentary box or if you write a book. You should still be promoting English cricket. I feel I’ve been a very fortunate person to have played as much as I have. And whether you’ve played one Test or a hundred, we should take that with us when we stop playing.James Anderson has toned down his verbal confrontations with batsmen•Getty ImagesIs it a more welcoming environment now?
I think it is since I started, yes. When I started, we weren’t very good. And when you’re going through a bad patch, people feel threatened for their position and wary of new people coming in. So they can be a little standoffish and you can feel unwelcome. But since we’ve had success, there’s been a real conscious effort. I’m sure Straussy was in the same position when he came in in 2004. We were getting close to success, but we were not quite there. So he was conscious when he was captain to make sure the environment was settled and was somewhere that a new guy coming in wouldn’t feel out of place and would feel welcome.What responsibility do the players take for Peter Moores losing his job?
It’s unfortunate when someone loses their job. You do actually feel a bit of responsibility. It wasn’t his fault that we were knocked out of the World Cup. It’s sad, really sad. He’s a really good guy. All he’s ever interested in is making players as good as they can be and improving the teams he’s involved in. And he’s done that, generally. He’s started off something really good, especially in the Test side, and we’ve just carried that on in the last few months and gradually got better and better. Obviously the one-day stuff stands out as we were so poor in that World Cup and the team we have seen recently has been so refreshing and positive. And that stands out a bit. But it’s not necessarily the coach who has that effect; it is probably more the personnel that have helped that change.Is that the end of your white-ball career?
It could well be, yes.Will that come as a relief?
No. I’m not going to retire from white-ball cricket. I still feel like I can play.How do you rate your World Cup performance?
Average.Why?
I don’t know. I didn’t feel I bowled particularly badly. I just didn’t get the wickets to show for it. I was frustrated with my performance as I knew, as a senior player, if we were going to succeed in the World Cup, I would have to take wickets and put in better performances than I did. So I’m frustrated with that.Look, it could well be the end of my career. I might never be picked again. And that is something I’ll have to deal with. But I still feel there’s been a lot of focus on batsmen in one-day cricket: their skills, the shots they play and the aggressive nature they play with. But I still think there’s a place for a skilful bowler who swings the ball and looks to take wickets with different skills, with offcutters and legcutters, and I still feel I can do a job. I know I’m getting older and Test cricket is still the pinnacle for me. I want to prolong my Test career as long as possible, so if I never play one-day cricket again, it might be a blessing. But right now, I still feel I have something to offer. Before the World Cup, I think I was in the top five in the world in one-day cricket.Cricket is like that. Your form fluctuates. In the 2009 Ashes series I didn’t do that well and I didn’t take many wickets. But then in 2010-11, I took 24 wickets. Unfortunately you can’t perform well all the time. As long as I’m fit enough and enjoying playing, I want to do it for as long as possible. I’ve always said I don’t like being rested as, when you’re fit, you want to be playing.Presumably the period you have been given off before the Ashes is beneficial to you?
Yeah, it’s frustrating. I want to be involved all the time and representing my country. I would have played the week before the Spain trip if Lancashire had a game, but they had a week off in the Championship. Going on loan wasn’t an option from the discussions I had. It’s frustrating, but at the stage of my career I’m at, I don’t think it’s going to be a massive thing going into that first Ashes Test. It’s not like I’ve had months off. It’s been a few weeks since the last Test. I’ll be raring to go.
“I thought I needed to get into a battle with the opposition but I realised that maybe I don’t need that”
Have you pulled your length back over time?
Not particularly, no. If you bowl every ball full, then batsmen are going to work you out. Maybe I bowl fewer fuller balls, but I try to bowl a good length all the time. But good as I might be, sometimes I don’t deliberately bowl a certain ball. I try and bowl in the same spot every ball, either with inswing or outswing, and natural variation will take it either side of a good length.So you pretty much aim for the top of off-stump?
Generally, yes. Unless I’ve a specific plan to a certain player. Test cricket is about the top of off stump, so the batsmen who know where that is and leave well generally score a lot of runs. And bowlers who hit that more often than others will be more successful.You’re involved with a film, Warriors, coming out shortly. What was the motivation there?
I’ve had a fantastic career in cricket. It’s taken me to some amazing places. This is my opportunity to give something back. Cricket can do a lot of good. This film can reach out and it’s great that cricket can do that. It has a strong social message. It was a really nice opportunity to do something outside cricket and give something back to the game.In the past, you’ve suggested you needed a bit of an edge on the pitch. As if you needed to get in the face of the opposition and to sledge. Are you rethinking that?
I learned a lot about myself during the India series last year and the stuff that went on with Ravindra Jadeja. I was very conscious of what I was doing in the final three Tests of that series and I bowled almost as well as I’ve ever bowled. Before that, I thought I needed it. I thought I needed to get into a battle with the opposition and I realised then that maybe I don’t need that. But what’s important going forward is that, whatever we do, we do it as a team. When I’ve been like that in the past, we had teams who didn’t mind getting under the skin of the opposition. We had KP, Matt Prior, Paul Collingwood. At the moment, we have quite a young side and it’s maybe not in their make-up to be like that. So I’ve got to buy into what is best for the team and the way we want to go about playing.Do you understand how people may be watching with their kids and are concerned about the spirit in which the games are played?
I completely understand that. I’ve kids myself. I realise they’ll be watching me as they get older.Did you feel you had gone a bit far with it?
Possibly, at times, yes. I’m a very competitive person and I’m desperately trying to win a game of cricket for my country. So I guess that’s taken over a bit at times. But it’s been very limited times. In the grand scheme of things, in my 100 and whatever Tests, there have been a few. But they get picked up and I’m very conscious of that. I think the game needs to be played in the right spirit. And the way the game is going and the way our team is progressing, we want to play with a smile on our face and inspire the next generation of England cricketers. That’s what our job is.In Grenada earlier this year, with the first new ball, you started bowling at about 75mph and then, with the second new ball, bowled at 90mph. You might think it would be the other way round. How does that happen?
Did I? You know what, the second new ball, the first wicket I took with the second new ball – Kraigg Brathwaite – was 77mph. It was a drag down, a loosener. But it hit the batsman on the glove or the shoulder of the bat. And then there was a little bit of a sniff of winning the game on the last day. It was now or never for us. I know I’ve a quick spell in me. But I’m at an age where I can’t do it every spell I bowl. I think it’s experience. I don’t try and bowl at 77mph. I try to bowl as quick as I can. Adrenalin takes over. You hit a bit of rhythm. I changed ends. I think I bowled different ends with each new ball.Anderson was a hero with the bat for England at Cardiff in 2009•SlazengerWhen Paul Collingwood was dismissed in Cardiff in 2009, did you have confidence in Monty Panesar that he could help save the game?
No. We knew it was going to be a tough task to get through that last 40 minutes. Colly had batted brilliantly to get us anywhere near. But when he was out, I did think that could be it for us. But Monty and I chatted. We took it over by over and tried to block as many balls as we could and we got managed to get through.Did it grow more nerve-wracking the longer you batted?
There was so much going on. We had physios coming on, guys running on with drinks to kill a bit of time, gloves, stuff like that. We were so focused on wasting time that the ball you face becomes easier. I’d watch the ball and then walk away and try to waste time. I’d look at the crowd, scratch my guard. Whatever. It was almost in slow motion, so I felt quite comfortable.How did the feeling at the end compare to winning?
It was a good draw, but it was a draw. You can’t replicate the value of a victory. With hindsight, it did mean a lot to us. It was a big shift in momentum as the Aussies were on top for most of that Cardiff Test and then we came back at Lord’s and won. Without us batting for 40 minutes, we might not have done as well as we did in that series. So it was important. But the feeling you get at the end isn’t quite as good as a victory.Is there one great moment that sticks out from the 2010-11 Ashes series?
The first thing that came to my head was the first Test at Brisbane when we were 500 for 1. They were on top in that game. We had bowled really well in their first innings but we bowled without any luck. But it gave us confidence. Then to see us bat like that – Alastair Cook made a double-hundred, Jonathan Trott made a hundred – it makes you feel comfortable as a bowler. From that moment we knew we had a really good chance of winning the series.