LONDON (Agencies): England bowler James Anderson says he is “not getting any worse” but his place in the team is “not a given”.
Anderson, 41, became the first pace bowler to take 700 Test wickets during defeat in the fifth Test in Dharamsala as India sealed a 4-1 series victory.
England do not play another Test until a three-match series against West Indies starts on 10 July, followed by three Tests against Sri Lanka.
“I’m really excited for the summer,” Anderson told the Tailenders podcast.
“I want to make sure I’m playing well and earn my place in the team.”
Anderson, who took 10 wickets in four Tests at an average of 33.5, said he bowled “really well” in India, having struggled to make an impact during last summer’s home Ashes against Australia.
“I’m not getting any worse,” he added. “I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve ever been in. “I like where my game is at and I still have that enjoyment of turning up every day and trying to get better in the nets.
“My place in the team is not a given so I’ve got to work hard to prove I’m worth a place in the summer.”
Anderson said England are “in a good place” going forward under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, despite the heavy defeat by India.
“I really enjoyed this tour,” he added. “I’ve been on tours to India before where little cracks start appearing in the team and that’s not happened this time.
“We’ve stuck together really well, we really enjoy being together as a group and there is more to come from this team.
“Obviously we’ll come in for some criticism because we did have moments where we didn’t play particularly well but India are really good.”
‘Nothing to celebrate’ about reaching 700
Anderson, who took his first wicket on his Test debut in 2003, reached 700 by having Kuldeep Yadav caught behind in the first session of day three in Dharamsala, set in the foothills of the Himalayas.
However, the bowler said there is “nothing to celebrate” about the landmark because he “doesn’t play cricket for personal milestones”. “It was a nice moment and nice to do it at a picturesque ground,” he added.
“My dad was here so I had a drink with my dad, which was nice. He was more excited than I was. “Maybe I would’ve felt more excited if we’d won the Test or the series.” Given the demands placed on cricketers by the three formats and the overall reduction in the number of Tests played, it is unlikely another pace bowler will break Anderson’s record.
But Anderson said that is “irrelevant” to him because he gets the “biggest buzz” from playing in a team and winning games. He added Kuldeep predicted he would be the England bowler’s 700th wicket shortly before he was dismissed.
Anderson said: “Kuldeep edged one down to third man for a single and as he got to the non-striker’s end and as I was walking back to my mark, he said, ‘I’m going to be your 700th wicket’.
“He wasn’t saying he was trying to get out, he was just saying he had a feeling. We both laughed at it.” Anderson had moved to 699 wickets on day two by bowling Shubman Gill for 110 after exchanging words with the India batter.
“I said something to him like, ‘Do you get any runs outside India?’ and he said, ‘It’s time to retire’,” added Anderson. “Then two balls later, I got him out.”
