Want to be playing for England if I'm fully fit, attests James Anderson
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James Anderson believes that nobody can stop him from playing for England should he regain full fitness. Anderson is also optimistic about his chances of getting selected in the squad for Sri Lanka tour, after having resumed training after suffering from a rib injury during the South Africa Tests.
The greatest pace bowler that England has ever produced, James Anderson is optimistic about his chances of getting selected in the squad for England's tour for Sri Lanka, after having resumed training after suffering from a rib injury during the test series against South Africa. In the recently concluded series, England triumphed over South Africa 3-1, where Anderson featured in the opening two Tests and bagged a five-wicket haul in the first innings in Cape town before being sidelined by injury.
The veteran speedster has revealed that he has not lost any fitness and is bracing to make a comeback when England tour Sri Lanka for two Tests in March.
"It's all healed, I've been training for a few weeks now, getting my bowling back up to speed and I feel really good. It was frustrating when it happened, it was a bit of a freak incident, but thankfully now it's all healed and I feel much better," Anderson told Sky Sports as quoted by Cricbuzz.
"That's the aim, to try and get fit for whatever's next - at the moment that's Sri Lanka. It's hard to prove your fitness in the indoor school at Old Trafford. With a broken bone, you're waiting for that to heal. I've not lost any fitness, it's just about building my bowling back up now, still got a month before that tour, so we'll just have to wait and see what the selectors think."
The English team copped a body blow when Jofra Archer was ruled out of the Sri Lanka series as well as the IPL due to a stress fracture in his right elbow. But that might be a blessing in disguise for Anderson, whose selection was not hundred percent certain due to consistent injuries. But Mark Wood's injury-prone nature might tempt the English Management to pick Anderson despite the veteran pacer's injury record in the past few months.
The speedster attested that he feels unlucky to have missed out on a plethora of Test matches due to a long list of injuries, which includes the calf injury that he sustained on the opening day of the first Ashes Test which kept him out for four months. The 37-year-old's comeback was also cut short due to a broken left rib which meant that he was not available for the last two tests for England in South Africa.
"If I'm fit I want to be playing for England, wherever that might be. I showed in South Africa I can still do it abroad. I've been unlucky a little the last few months with injuries but my record before that has been pretty good injury-wise. I'm hopeful I can keep fit for as long as possible, if I'm fit I want to be playing wherever England are.
"Because I don't play one-day cricket I think there's enough rest there naturally to be available for most series and most games. The last few months have been different because I have been injured. But that's not something that's been an issue for me before. Going forward, as I said, there's enough break naturally between series to get myself fit and prepare for the next series," Anderson said.
The squad for the Sri Lankan series will be announced on Monday, February 10.
