London: Former England skipper Nasser Hussain expects pace bowler James Anderson to tour India for the gruelling five-Test series early next year, saying that with pacer Stuart Broad and all-rounder Moeen retiring, the experience of the 41-year-old will come in handy in sub-continental conditions.
Anderson, the highest wicket-taking quick in Test cricket, would be more than keen to tour India for the series, scheduled to commence in January next year, after an ordinary bowling effort during the recently concluded Ashes.
“Jimmy’s (Anderson) got a very good record against India… And you need a balanced attack. You need that experience for younger players to come in,” Hussain said on The ICC Review on Thursday.
Anderson has a good record against India, with six of his 32 five-wicket hauls in Tests coming against them. His average in the Asian country (29.32) is decent in comparison to other places he has played in.
“Listen, Jimmy’s had a bad or an average couple of months, but you are a fool if you’re writing off Jimmy Anderson. I spoke to him in an interview and he was like, the hunger is still there. He’s already thinking about how to get back to his best,” added Hussain.
Hussain added that with the Ashes now history, Anderson was looking ahead to newer challenges and aiming to hit the nets soon.
“He’s already thinking about going back in the nets and working hard at his game and that’s a good sign for me that he’s still got that hunger. He’s, what, 10 wickets away from 700 (Test wickets), and that will keep him going for a while yet.”
England have been hit by a spate of retirements, notably by all-rounder Moeen Ali and pacer Broad. But Hussain felt that while the absence of the two stalwarts will be felt, the team has depth in their bowling ranks to perform well in India.
“I think especially with Broad going, I would like that experience (of Anderson in India).”
“(All-rounder) Chris Woakes has stated that he’s not that keen anymore of playing away from home and his record’s not great away from home. We’ll see, he (Woakes) might change his mind. There’s been a lot of mind changes recently. But if you don’t have Woakes and you don’t have Broad, you will need that experience of someone like Jimmy Anderson,” added Hussain.
Hussain added that tour of India will pose then next biggest challenge to “Bazball”, a term which has come to be associated with England’s aggressive style of play under coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.
“(Spinner) Jack Leach will (hopefully) be back and Rehan Ahmed is a very good second spinner, as we saw in Pakistan,” Hussain said.
“(Pacer) Josh Tongue has bowled really well. (Pacer) Ollie Robinson is a very skilful bowler. Unfortunately, someone like Olly Stone is injured and obviously Jofra Archer is injured.
“You need that extra pace as well in India. So England have got…They’ve got that lad (Gus) Atkinson at Surrey, who has a lot of good things being said about him. So England have options. It’s (India) the next test for Bazball. They said Bazball will work against one side, then they moved on to the next side.
“Then they moved on to New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan. The next challenge is India and everyone knows India in India is one of the sternest challenges in Test match cricket.”
Hussain indicated he was keen to know how “Bazball” will work against the likes of India’s ace spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
“It’s Bazball against spin. Bazball against Ravi Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel and that is going to be fascinating.”
