THE ASHES 2017-18

Sledging worked against Steve Smith - Anderson

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

After having scored a fine century in the first Test, Steve Smith hasn't quite got going © Getty

James Anderson thinks he is bowling as well as he ever has done after he took his first five-wicket haul in Australia on day four in Adelaide on Tuesday (December 5).

After four tours Down Under, and previous best figures of 4-44 at the MCG in 2010, Anderson finished Australia's second innings at Adelaide Oval with 5-43 from 22 overs of fine seam and swing bowling. He continued his good form from England's home summer, during which he picked up his 500th Test wicket, and he now has 47 victims in 2017 at an average of 15.82.

"Everything has clicked," he told reporters after the day's play. "I have felt in good rhythm all year. I feel like I am bowling as well I have and my body is in as good shape as it ever has been. People keep telling me I am about to finish and retire so I want to show them I still have wickets in me. I have shown that this week and hopefully that can continue for the rest of this trip."

At 35, Anderson is clearly in the twilight of his career but England's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket is not considering his future just yet. Far from it. "I don't really want to think about the future too much," he said. "I am loving playing cricket and playing with this group of blokes. As long as I am bowling well and doing myself justice on the field, I am going to keep playing.

"I absolutely love this game. I have fortunately played for a long time and I am not planning on stopping any time soon. If I keep bowling well and keep myself in good shape, hopefully, I can keep going for a long while."

Labelled, before this match, as one of the biggest sledgers in the game by Australia's Steve Smith, Anderson was not shy of living up to that billing when Smith was batting. The pair had a long exchange on the first evening when Anderson was stationed at short mid-on while Smith was at the non-striker's end and Australia's captain was clearly rattled.

After his unbeaten hundred at the Gabba, returns of 40 and 6 for the New South Welshman represent something of a success for England. "I think it [the verbals] did work because we got him out quite cheaply," Anderson said. "It is about trying to get someone out of their bubble and unsettled, and at that point in time Steve seemed more interested in chatting to me and Stuart (Broad) than focussing on his job. That is a job well done for us."

Anderson admitted that England had bowled too short on the first day after Joe Root had won the toss and decided to bowl but the Lancastrian was pleased with how the tourists had responded in the second half of this match. There is frustration, however, that England have yet to put together a consistent performance in this series despite having their moments in both the Test matches.

"At some point, we've got to start learning from the positions we get ourselves in," Anderson said. "We were in strong positions in Brisbane and didn't capitalise. We've come here and we were way behind the game. We've shown that's not a fair reflection on how good we are as a team. We were really annoyed with way we played on the first couple of days being 200-plus runs behind.

"We did not do ourselves justice in those two innings with the ball and the bat and we wanted to show people what we could do and show we have good characters in this team to get ourselves back into games by fighting hard and playing well. We've come back and shown people that we can compete with Australia and we can cause them problems with bat and ball. It is a case of doing it for longer periods of time and not just a day here and a day there."

© Cricbuzz

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