Ashes 2023: Steve Smith Has Had A Lot Of Success Against Us In Recent Times - James Anderson

Updated - 28 May 2023, 10:11 PM

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Steve Smith will be Australia’s biggest asset with the bat in the upcoming Ashes series. To counter him, England’s greatest strength with the ball will be James Anderson. The series kicks off with the first test on June 16 in Edgbaston. The series will conclude with the fifth Test at the Oval from July 27-31.

Ahead of the start of the series, James Anderson has spoken about Steve Smith and his love affair with England. The premiere Aussie batter likes batting against England and has scored heaps of runs in the last two Ashes series. He scored 774 runs in the 2019 series at an average of 110.57. He could not replicate the same form but still finished the series with 244 in five matches at an average of 30.50.

“I never really like singling anyone out, but he’s had a lot of success against us in recent times. Maybe in the past we’ve actually gone overboard in thinking of ways to get people out” Anderson said to Smith to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The veteran pacer further said that England batters playing with freedom in the last 12-15 months have worked to their advantage.

We Have Done Brilliantly In The Last 12 Months: James Anderson

“What we’ve done brilliantly in the last 12 months is thinking about what we do well. That’s worked particularly well for the batters not worrying about who’s bowling at them, and just really concentrating on their strengths and the areas they can score in” Anderson said.

The veteran pacer also spoke about the importance of taking 20 wickets in the season. Anderson has played 179 Test matches and taken 685 Test wickets. He can get past 700 wickets in the upcoming series.

We Will Focus On Getting 20 Wickets: James Anderson

“It’s the same for the bowlers, I think. There might be the odd fielding position here and there, but generally we’ll focus on us and getting 20 wickets in the game. It’s dangerous to look too much at one player when you come up against a batting line-up like the Australians.”

England have had a fabulous record under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s tenure so far. They have not lost a single series under this new pair. England have also lost only two of their last 12 Tests.

Also Read: Men’s Ashes 2023 To Begin On June 16 At Edgbaston