James Anderson should be your role model - Ben Stokes gives advice to young pacers

Veteran pacer James Anderson is part of the England playing XI for the fourth Test in Ranchi. The Test match starts from Friday, February 23 with the visitors 2-1 down in the series. 

England have also included Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir in the XI in place of Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed. Jonny Bairstow too has found a place in the XI after averaging just 17 across six innings in this series so far. 

England now have an uphill task of winning the fourth Test in Ranchi which is generally known to be a spin-friendly wicket. In two previous Test matches at this venue, spinners have taken most of the wickets. 

However, England who are known to go beyond the convention have decided to rotate their pacers around. Ollie Robinson will be playing his first Test match of the series while veteran pacer James Anderson his third. 

Addressing the pre-match press conference Ben Stokes spoke about the decision behind including Anderson in the XI. Stokes praised the veteran pacer’s ability to keep going at this age and continue picking up wickets regularly.

“If you’re a young fast bowler, Jimmy Anderson is the one person who you want as your role model. Not only the amount of wickets he’s got but the fact that he can keep going at his age,” said the England captain.

“Back in a high-workload test match last week to be fit five days later and raring to go, feeling fit as a fiddle — his wickets, longevity and his age, he’s an unbelievable role model” he further added. 

James Anderson has now been playing international cricket for over 20 years. In the meantime, he has overcome several challenges and has improved himself as a bowler to be successful across different conditions and oppositions. 

“Especially over the last two years, he’s also introduced new ways of operating. We’ve seen him commit to bowling bouncers, we’ve seen him bowl around the wickets to right-handers, use the skills when the conditions need that,” Stokes added.

James Anderson Eyes Multiple Milestones In Ranchi

The veteran pacer has picked up 145 wickets against India in 37 Test matches. However, in the last Test in Rajkot, he was taken for plenty, especially by Yashasvi Jaiswal. He hit him for three consecutive sixes en route to his second double-hundred of the series. So far Jaiswal has scored 75 runs against the veteran England pacer off 105 balls having been dismissed twice. 

There are further reports of Ben Stokes looking to bowl in the fourth Test in Ranchi. The build-up to this has been huge since the England bowlers took a battering against the Indian batters in the last Test. 

James Anderson is four short of 700 Test wickets and Ben Stokes in his presser also spoke on the upcoming milestone. Anderson will be the only pacer in the history of Test cricket to take 700 wickets as and when he gets there. 

“Even saying approaching 700 wickets as a fast bowler is incredible but I don’t think that’ll be at the top of his mind this week just because of where we are in the series,” Stokes concluded.

England Playing XI For Fourth Test In Ranchi 

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir

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