“Our main job is to get them out, not to rile them up, so we’ll be concentrating on that”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England pace bowler James Anderson has made it clear that he has no intention of getting involved in a sledging competition with Australia opener David Warner.

Anderson is instead concentrating on getting England’s World Cup campaign off to a strong start when they take on the Baggy Greens in Melbourne on February 14.

“Having played against him (Warner) in the past, I don’t think he needs too much encouragement,” Anderson said. “We’re going out there to concentrate on what we do, we’re going to try to be aggressive with the ball up front all the way through the innings and try and take wickets.

“Our main job is to get them out, not to rile them up, so we’ll be concentrating on that.”

Anderson also noted that left-arm pace bowler Mitchell Johnson isn’t the only threat England face when they go up against Australia’s bowling attack.

“No matter what he sends down, they’ve got a group of good bowlers, it’s not just him we’ve go to worry about,” Anderson said. “We’ve hopefully got plans for all of them but it’s about concentrating on us, ultimately.

“I know now you’ve got to enjoy occassions like this. Playing at the MCG in front of a full house, I believe. Against Australia, in a World Cup is just what every player dreams of and we’re so excited, can’t wait.”

When asked if England can win their first World Cup, Anderson said: “The last few (World Cups) have been very unsuccessful from our point of view. This time there’s a real difference in the belief. There’s a genuine belief that we can surprise a few teams. We feel confident enough that we can beat anyone if we have our day.

“In a tournament like this you know that it’s all about qualifying for the quarter-finals and the three matches from winning the World Cup.

“We’re really keen on getting off to a positive start tomorrow, hopefully everything else will take care of itself.”