| England Players Beginning to Fire. | |
James Anderson |
England's big guns are
beginning to fire again giving hope for an excellent summer of international
one-day and Test cricket. Our own Michael Vaughan must be very pleased with the way several of the players he will be captaining in the two one-day series have started the season. I was particularly pleased to see Marcus Trescothick among the runs again because they will have done wonders for his confidence after he returned feeling a little jaded from Australia and the World Cup. |
| Banger, as he is called
in the English dressing room because of his love of sausages, cannot
wait for the new international season to start and I am sure the
Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe bowlers will value what has
become one of the prized wickets in the game. It will not come cheaply. Marcus's home track of Taunton, in my opinion the best in the country to bat on, will have helped him get back his timing and rhythm and he will reap the benefits of that throughout the summer. Freddie Flintoff, one of the stars of the World Cup, has carried on where he left off in South Africa and I believe England will see more of the new and improved Lancastrian. He came through his long injury absence as if he had never been away and I am convinced that being out for as long as he was helped him take stock, reflect and emerge a better player. Freddie really enjoys wielding his new Woodworm bats and he is also bowling at a lively pace. All in all he is another in good shape for the summer. A familiar face might be joining Tres and Freddie in the one-day team because Yorkshire's Darren Gough is on the comeback trail… and a fit Goughie is a bonus for any team. I had half an hour of his company when I went down to see Wasim Akram play for his new county Hampshire and Goughie was in great form… talking through every one of the 70 odd runs he had scored. I was not sure what to expect when he came in to bowl, but there was plenty of the old bravado and style. It may take him a little while to get fully into the groove but I expect him to be playing for his country again some time during the summer. If he can get full fitness back then Goughie has two or three years left at the top… and that's good news for England. My old pal Wasim has settled in really well at Hampshire and his new county is looking after him exceptionally well. He's among the wickets and the runs will follow so it has turned out into a fine move for all concerned. I know the Hampshire lads enjoy his company and he does theirs. It was very pleasing to see Jimmy Anderson's winter efforts - especially at the World Cup where he was outstanding -rewarded with a central contract and I know he cannot wait for the international campaigns to start again. Rarely in the history of our game has a youngster come into the side and settled so quickly and there is a lot more to come from my former Lancashire colleague. |
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