“My heart is with playing Test cricket for England”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England pace bowler James Anderson has made it clear that he is committed to representing his country in Test cricket rather than playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In order to prove where his loyalties lie, Anderson confirmed that he would not be entering the IPL draft.
“My heart is with playing Test cricket for England,” Anderson said. “So that is what I’ll concentrate on doing for the foreseeable future.
“At the moment, where I am at this stage of my career, I want to make sure I’m in good nick to play Test match cricket for England. A couple of months off won’t be a bad thing. I’ll make sure I come back for Lancashire at the start of the season and get ready for the Test matches at the start of the summer. That’s where my head is at.”
Anderson is an integral part of the England team as he is the country’s pace spearhead and their leading wicket-taker in Tests with 427 wickets to his name.
However, with England facing a long and arduous 17-Test schedule in 2016, Anderson made it clear that he is determined and committed to playing in each one of those matches.
“There is a slight worry about domestic T20 competitions doing so well,” he said. “But speak to players and there is a still a passion to play Test cricket. It’s a real test of someone’s character and skill. It still excites me. I love it. I prioritise it in my head and my heart.
“I’m not the only person who feels like that in the world. Hopefully it’s not just players but fans too, but we need people to keep supporting the [Test] game so that it does flourish. Seventeen Tests in a year is a huge challenge, but I get excited about it and I look forward to it.”
With the third Test against South Africa set to begin on Thursday in Johannesburg, Anderson had an opportunity to get a glimpse of the wicket and believes that there will be more in it for the bowlers than the pitch they played on during the second Test in Cape Town, which ended as a draw.
“There will be more swing here because of the conditions,” Anderson said. “And hopefully there’ll be a bit more in the pitch as well.
“The important thing is to think about the swing and the lengths we’re going to bowl. We know we might get a bit more carry and bounce, so we need to bowl a fuller length even with that bounce.”
England currently lead the four-Test series against South Africa 1-0 after they crushed the Proteas by 241 runs in the first Test in Durban.