James Anderson may miss Ireland test to be fit for Ashes against Australia, England star recovering from injury
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Published 17/05/2023 at 17:34 GMT+1
James Anderson suffered a mild groin strain during Lancashire’s County Championship match against Somerset but has been included in England's squad to face Ireland in a one-off Test match next month. The Ashes series with Australia also begins in June and the 40-year-old Anderson says his priority is to be fit and ready to play at Edgbaston in the opener.
James Anderson
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James Anderson knows he might need to sit out of England’s first Test of the summer if he is to be fit for the Ashes opener against Australia at Edgbaston.
The country’s record wicket-taker has been included in the squad for next month’s one-off Test match against Ireland, despite pulling up with a groin injury during Lancashire’s County Championship clash with Somerset last week.
Scans have shown the problem to be mild and the England and Wales Cricket Board say Anderson will be “assessed nearer the time” of the Ireland fixture.
At a sponsor event, Anderson said: “I think I will be fit for the Ireland game. Whether I play or not is probably another matter really. I definitely don’t want to risk it.
“I am desperate to be fit for the first Ashes Test. If that means missing the Ireland Test, so be it.
“It’s a 10-day recovery period, and I’m rehabbing already, running next week.”
The injury happened during Anderson’s fourth outing of the county season and he said: “I was disappointed to have to pull out of a game but, with what’s to come in the summer, it was actually a pretty good result.
“It was weird how it worked out. The last ball of my spell I felt something not quite right. I came straight off, and then we came pretty much straight off for rain after that. I pulled up the next day and it wasn’t right. I went for a scan that night and it showed a strain, so there was no point risking it.”
Anderson has faced fitness battles ahead of the Ashes before. In 2019, he fought back from a torn calf but went down injured on the first morning of the first Test and missed the rest of the summer.
Comparing then to now, Anderson said: “That situation was a different injury, a more serious injury. I ripped my calf earlier that summer, and it was a real push to try to get fit for that first Test.
"I don’t feel like this is anywhere near that severity."
Speaking on the BBC’s Tailenders podcast, Anderson has admitted sitting out of the action in the coming weeks for his county is not ideal as it would have helped with his preparation for the hectic international schedule.
"It's frustrating because you always want to feel good and get enough bowling in before a series and you want to be fresh, so it's now about trying to plan the best route through this summer," he said.
"I felt like I needed to play this game (Ireland) so it's not ideal, but I'm not stressed about it.
"I'm just taking it day by day and seeing how it goes because obviously I don't want to risk anything by making it worse.
"I'm more confident I can get this one right [than in 2019] and give the Ashes a right good crack."
England will be hoping Anderson is fit enough to feature this summer, with Jofra Archer already ruled out of action for several months and captain Ben Stokes being able to bowl very few overs in the Indian Premier League.
Anderson will also want to add to his impressive haul of 685 Test match wickets this summer. He is just 24 wickets away from moving ahead of Australian legend Shane Warne into second place in the all-time record books.
Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan is at the top of the list with 800.
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