James Anderson says England are ‘chomping at the bit’ as they play in Pakistan after 17 years

England veteran fast bowler James Anderson said that England is ‘chomping at the bit’ as Three Lions face Pakistan in Tests at Rawalpindi on Thursday. The 40-year-old is the only one who visited Pakistan last time when the English side toured Pakistan back in 2005, where he played two red ball tour games but did not participate in the three-match Test series against Pakistan. 

Pakistan is the only country where the right-arm seamer has not played yet in his two-decade cricketing career. The pacer is all set for the new challenge and will try to give his best with the ball on Pakistani soil.

“(We are) really excited,” Anderson was quoted as saying on Independent. “Especially after the summer we had in Test cricket, we felt like we were building something and we want to keep that kind of momentum building, and to be a part of that in the summer was amazing.”

We’ve got great coaches all around us: James Anderson

“Then, to be a part of what is a really exciting challenge for us out here…Different conditions, different to what we will have experienced before as a group. It’s a really exciting challenge and I think all of us are just chomping at the bit.” In Rawalpindi, only 14 wickets fell last time when Australia played against Pakistan. So it would be difficult for England bowlers to grab pictures on this pitch.”

“We’re trying to make sure we (the bowlers) have all bases covered for every eventuality and make sure we know what fields we might set, talking specifics about their batters as well and trying to work out plans for them,” Anderson added. “But I think, at this level, it’s happened for a few years in the Test team in particular where we, I wouldn’t say we’re self-sufficient, but we do look after each other, and we’ve got great analysts.”

“We’ve got great coaches all around us and some of the best captains the world has ever seen in our group, so we can pick their brains as well and we feel like we’ve got what it takes to take 20 wickets in each Test match.”