Ashes 2021-22: We Did Not Bat Well Enough On A Flat Adelaide Track: James Anderson Slams England Batters

Senior England bowler James Anderson criticised their batting unit for not giving enough in the second Test in Adelaide.

England lost the Adelaide Test by 275 runs despite wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler’s dogged resistance on Day 5, which delayed Australia’s victory.

We did not bat well enough: James Anderson

England batters once again displayed a dismal batting performance as they were bowled out for 236 & 192 in both the innings respectively.

Only skipper Joe Root (62) and Dawid Malan (80) played with intent, barring the two other batters who couldn’t contribute much to add to the scoreboard.

Anderson said their batters failed to put up a good show on the flat track at the Adelaide Oval.

“We did not bat well enough on a pitch where the data said it was one of the flattest Adelaide surfaces ever produced and the pink ball did the least it has ever done in a day-night game,” Anderson wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

We should have bowled fuller: James Anderson

After the match, Root, in his press conference, had said that their bowlers failed to hit the right lengths as Australia led by Marnus Labuschagne’s well crafted 103-run knock posted a gigantic score of 473.

Anderson, who leads England’s bowling attack, defended his bowlers, mentioning that they gave their best but expected them to bowl the fuller length more often.

“From a bowlers’ point of view, you want to be hitting the right lengths all the time. We did our best on the first two days to do that … Maybe we could have gone a touch fuller at times but we still created quite a few changes that were not taken,” Anderson mentioned.

“We have to be better at assessing it during a game. We can’t just go after the game, ‘we should have bowled fuller’… We have to be a bit more proactive at that too as a whole group,” he added.

England will play against Australia in the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG), starting on December 26.

Also Read: Ashes 2021-22: Joe Root’s Comment On Bowlers’ Performance Has Divided England Dressing Room: Steve Harmison