James Anderson under fire over 'worrying' scenes as England move backfires

The form of veteran bowler James Anderson has again been called out after another fruitless day for England in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval. Anderson toiled away late in the day without taking a wicket against Australia, while the move to persist with under-fire wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow backfired after he made just four runs with the bat.

Harry Brook was the pick of England's batters on day one, blasting a quick-fire 85 before the hosts were bowled out for 283. Aussie quick Mitchell Starc brushed off an ongoing shoulder concern to lead Australia's attack with figures of 4-82, with David Warner (24 runs) the only wicket to fall for the visitors, who will resume day two on 1-61.

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Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labushagne will be hoping to ram home Australia's advantage against an England attack that could be missing Moeen Ali - the spinner injuring his groin while batting. If Moeen is unable to bowl, it will place an even greater burden on England's pace quartet of Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad and Anderson - who turns 41 over the weekend.

The veteran quick was labelled the "greatest fast bowler to play the game" by captain Ben Stokes before the Test, and statistically, there can be few arguments. The stark reality for England is the fact the 689-Test wicket legend has only taken four scalps all series and looks a shadow of the bowler who has terrorised the Aussies in his homeland.

Writing for the Telegraph in the UK, cricket scribe Oliver Brown said the England team had an "end-of-term" feel to them. With their chance of retaining the Ashes gone and several players in the twilight of their careers, that sentiment is perhaps understandable.

Brown suggested England's batting carried an air of resignation about it, with Joe Root dismissed in uncharacteristically cheap fashion and other England batters trying to swing their way out of trouble rather than knuckle down and occupy the crease for long periods. “You can sense it from the body language of (Joe) Root, a wonderfully sophisticated batsman but rushed and indecisive in dealing with Australia’s quicks," Brown wrote.

"The Ashes have gone. That is the galling reality England are confronting. It seems their only response, counter-intuitive as it might be, is to carry on hitting and hoping.”

The Daily Mail's Paul Newman said the "worrying" reality for England is that they might be relying on a bowler in Anderson that's about to turn 41, to get them out of the hole they find themselves in. “England need the real Jimmy Anderson to stand up after the most worrying signs yet that the man described before this fifth Test by Ben Stokes as the greatest fast bowler of all time really is in decline as he approaches his 41st birthday,” Newman wrote.

“Anderson was innocuous and uncharacteristically inaccurate in seven wicketless overs in two spells as his fellow veterans in Warner and Usman Khawaja launched Australia’s reply in a far more traditional way than England’s Bazballers.”

Jonny Bairstow under the pump for England

Calls are also growing for England to replace Bairstow, despite his swashbuckling 99 not out in the fourth Test. That innings merely papered over Bairstow's struggles with the bat which resurfaced on day one at The Oval when he fell for just four runs off 14 balls.

Bairstow's average this series sits around a respectable 35 but he has only registered two scores above 20 in nine innings, with his Old Trafford onslaught bumping up the average considerably. Bairstow has copped backlash for the "erratic" nature of his dismissals, while his glove work has also been far from exemplary.

Former England captain Michael Atherton took aim after Bairstow's latest dismissal at The Oval when he was once again caught chopping on to his own stumps. "Bairstow gets a lot of inside edges, or has in this series, got a lot of inside edges that have missed the stumps. Well, his luck has run out on this occasion," Atherton said.

Bairstow has been guilty of a raft of dropped catches and missed opportunities behind the stumps this series and may need another big score with the bat in the second innings to save himself from the axe. Another cheap dismissal means the County Championship will be Bairstow's only avenue to convince selectors before England's next Test match, which isn't until 2024.

with agencies

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