ENG vs AUS: Potts glad to have Anderson in England dressing room

The 42-year-old, top of the all-time charts for fast bowlers, immediately moved into a role mentoring England’s quicks and Potts is glad to be able to mine his experience.

With a growing cohort of England quicks competing for places in the Test and white-ball teams, Matthew Potts would like to up his speed without compromising his accuracy. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

James Anderson may have retired from Test cricket but his influence within the England set-up remains strong, according to Matthew Potts.

Anderson brought the curtain down on an extraordinary Test career that yielded 704 wickets after appearing in his 188th match against the West Indies at Lord’s in July.

The 42-year-old, top of the all-time charts for fast bowlers, immediately moved into a role mentoring England’s quicks and Potts is glad to be able to mine his experience.

“It’s an awesome experience to have so much knowledge in the dressing room,” Potts, 25, told a press conference at Lord’s on Thursday ahead of the fourth one-day international against Australia.

“Being able to tap into that knowledge whenever you want, he (Anderson) gives it freely.”

Anderson gave up white-ball cricket to prolong his Test career but Potts is a multi-format England player.

The Durham seamer is playing in the current five-match ODI series against the world champion, with the home side trailing 2-1, and has also been included in the squad for next month’s three-Test tour of Pakistan.

Together with several England teammates including Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, Potts will have a short turnaround between the end of the Australia series on Sunday and flying out to Multan on Tuesday.

“That’s the beauty of being a multi-format cricketer,” said Potts, whose eight Tests have yielded 28 wickets at a shade under 30 apiece.

“You’ve got to be ready for every eventuality but at the same time be able to compartmentalise for different things. I’ve got all the stuff packed but I’m focused on this white-ball series first.”

With a growing cohort of England quicks competing for places in the Test and white-ball teams, Potts would like to up his speed without compromising his accuracy.

“I think one of my key assets is control, but it’s about exploring the boundaries in which I can keep control and try and find my peak speed,” he said.

“As you push your average speed up, your peak speed should generally go up as well. I’ll try to keep up at 84-85 miles per hour (135-137 kmph) consistently throughout the day.”