DON’T REST ME
James Anderson has said that he doesn’t want to be rested for the 5th and final Ashes test match which is going to be played at Kennington Oval, London.
England has already taken an unbeatable lead of 3-0 in the series and the 5th match is a dead rubber. So, there have been speculations that the hosts might opt to rest some of their senior players especially the bowlers for that game. But, Anderson has made it clear that he wants to feature at Kia Oval.
Anderson has not been at his best in the ongoing Ashes series. He had started in a blistering way and had grabbed 10 wickets in the opening test match. But, after that, he hasn’t been that impressive. In the last couple of test matches, he has struggled both with the new and the old ball.
Talking to the reporters ahead of the Oval test match, Anderson said, “My form hasn’t been up to the mark in the series. I could have bowled a lot better.”
“I don’t want to miss the last game. I want to go out there and get my rhythm back.”
“I am not feeling exhausted at the moment. The body is fit and fine and rest is not something that I need desperately.”
Last year, England was in the same situation in the test series against West Indies. They had won the series by winning the first two test matches and for the last game, they had rested Anderson.
There is a good chance that the England team management would do the same this time around as well keeping in mind that they have to play another Ashes series in Australia after a few months and Anderson will have a big role to play in that series.