Australia has problems, claims Anderson

James Anderson feels the Australians are in trouble if Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins are struck down by injury.

Published : Dec 22, 2017 12:11 IST

The quartet of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, and Lyon (in no specific order) has been instrumental in Australia regaining the Ashes.
The quartet of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, and Lyon (in no specific order) has been instrumental in Australia regaining the Ashes.
lightbox-info

The quartet of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, and Lyon (in no specific order) has been instrumental in Australia regaining the Ashes.

James Anderson believes Australia has problems as the England paceman questioned its bowling depth aside from star trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

Australia is flying high having taken an unassailable 3-0 series lead with an innings victory in Perth.

England has struggled to cope with Australia's pace attack of Starc (19), Hazlewood (15) and Cummins (11), who have combined for 45 wickets, while spinner Nathan Lyon has added 14 of his own.

But veteran Anderson feels the Australians are in trouble if Starc, Hazlewood or Cummins are struck down by injury.

Read: Starc still in doubt for Boxing Day Ashes Test

"They've had three bowlers who all can bowl 90mph and they've stayed fit for three games. But you look beyond that, they've got problems," Anderson told BBC 5 Live.

"[James] Pattinson's injured. [Nathan] Coulter-Nile is injured. They've all been injured for a while. They haven't got much other than these three who are bowling at the minute. They have Jackson Bird who bowls very similar to English bowlers. He is the guy who they've brought to England before saying he is suited to English conditions because he bowls 80-85 miles an hour and swings it.

"I think we have to be careful. Obviously we want to produce guys who can bowl 90mph but I don't think we should take away from what we've got. We've got some very skilful bowlers, we've just come up against a team that are better than us this series. Let's just be careful with what we're wishing for."

The Boxing Day Test – the fourth and penultimate Ashes match – gets underway in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment