Watch: James Anderson to turn into spinner to find place in XI? Pacer bowls spin in nets

England pacer James Anderson failed to make the cut into the XI for the ongoing first Test against India. The team opted to pick one seamer in Mark Wood along with three spinners in Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, and Rehan Ahmed.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is host to the ongoing first Test between India and England. The move to leave out James Anderson hasn’t paid off for the visitors as Mark Wood hasn’t made an impact and also spinners didn’t perform well as was expected of them.

Despite not making it into the XI, James Anderson managed to hog the headlines. With him not finding a place in the team, the pacer was seen bowling left-spin in the nets ahead of Day 2 of the game between India and England in Hyderabad.

James Anderson was seen bowling left-arm orthodox spin in the nets. He was seen taking vital inputs from the spinner from Jack Leach. The fast bowler had a smooth action and landed the ball pretty well on the length.

The clip of James Anderson bowling left-arm spin was shown during the day’s play. It was displayed on the big screen and it gained huge praise from the crowd. Even the pacer himself was seen laughing about the same.

Here’s the video:

New career for @jimmy9 ?
Make sure you bat right handed as well! #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/BJvwDe5AxE

— simon hughes (@theanalyst) January 26, 2024

Watching James Anderson bowl even made Ravi Shastri, who was commentating, applaud the pacer.  The former India head coach pointed out that the ball was coming nicely off the fast bowler’s hand. Speaking on Air, he explained:

“It’s coming out nicely. Very nicely. Well done, Jimmy.”

James Anderson arguably has been one of the best pacers that the game of cricket has ever seen. The fast bowler despite being 41 has been running like a young bowler and is picking wickets in clusters for the team. He has picked 690 wickets, which speaks about his caliber.

Jimmy’s incredibly professional – Ben Stokes on why James Anderson didn’t play the first Test

It came as a bit of a surprise when James Anderson wasn’t picked in the XI for the first Test against England.  Despite him having a good track record, he was dropped. The pacer has claimed 34 wickets at an average of 29.32 in 13 games in India.

Ben Stokes while talking about why James Anderson missed said that they picked the team based on the conditions. He added that fast bowler makes decisions quite professionally and they also need to manage his workload. He had said.

“Jimmy’s incredibly professional. You never know how conditions might change and what you might feel as the best set-up for your team. But now we’re not looking at having to manage Jimmy or his workloads.”

England were bundled out for just 246 runs in their first innings. In reply, India have taken a lead of 175 runs and are 421/7. The bowlers haven’t turned up for the visitors at all.

With the kind of show, bowlers have put up for England in the ongoing game, it won’t be a surprise if James Anderson returns for the second match.