Felt He Wasn't Trying to Get Me Out: James Anderson on Facing Jasprit Bumrah
India lead the five-match Test series 1-0 with three games to go.
James Anderson and Jasprit Bumrah speaking after Day 3 at Lord's.
Image: PTI
James Anderson spoke about his experience of batting against Jasprit Bumrah and felt the bowler wasn’t interested in dismissing him.
Bumrah bowled a 10-ball over which had a flurry of quick bouncers aimed at the body, in a bid to rough up Anderson who has an issue with the short ball. Anderson played out the over but got out to Mohammed Siraj at the other end.
“I got caught off guard a little bit because all the batters coming in were saying how slow the pitch was. Banged in short; it was really slow. When I came out to bat, Joe said Bumrah was not bowling as quick as he normally does.
“And then, the first ball was 90 miles an hour and on the money, wasn’t it? And it felt like, I haven’t felt like this ever in my career. I felt he wasn’t trying to get me out,” James Anderson said on the Tailenders Podcast.
“I felt he wasn’t trying to get me out. He bowled an over, maybe 10, 11, 12 balls. He was bowling no-ball after no-ball, bowling short. I think he bowled two on the stumps which I managed to dig out. So for me, it was just about trying to survive that and get Joe back on strike."
England tried pay back in the same coin later when Bumrah was batting, by bringing on Mark Wood to bowl quick and short. However, Bumrah, who had a couple of words with Wood and Jos Buttler while batting, along with Shami put on an 89-run stand for the ninth wicket in response.
According to Anderson, it was a wrong decision by captain Joe Root.
“When Joe touched on getting a few things wrong, I think, potentially, when Bumrah came in, he brought Mark Wood on and took me off. That’s the sort of thing he is talking about getting the emotion get the better of him. That was a sort of – trying for him to have a taste of his own medicine type of thing, rather than trying to get him out.
“You could just keep me on and normally see if he plays any big shot or anything like that, whereas he went with Mark Wood straightaway."
India and England will play the third Test from 25 August at Headingley. India lead the five-match series 1-0.
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