JAMES ANDERSON will spend the next four weeks trying to find new ways of making a cricket ball swing and swerve through the air.
If he fails, Anderson says, perhaps only half-jokingly: “It could be a short summer for me!”
Anderson is a master of his art, one of the greatest and most skilful swing bowlers of all time.
But, for almost two decades as an England player, he has used spit, saliva and sweat to help shine one side of the ball.
Now, under new Covid-19 regulations, the use of oral fluid has been banned for England’s six Test matches this summer against West Indies and Pakistan.
Anderson and his mates will have to change the habits of a lifetime. He explained: “For me, it’s a natural habit to put saliva on the ball.
“It’s been interesting to try to stop myself doing that. Fortunately, in Manchester we get quite a lot of rain so I’ve been able to shine the ball on the grass in training and find some moisture that way.
“As far as I’m aware, we can use sweat — which might help polish the ball enough to do something through the air.
“We should be able to repair the ball well enough for it to swing. It could be a short summer for me if it doesn’t!
“It will be difficult to change habits. But we have four more weeks of training before the First Test so hopefully we get into the habit of not using saliva on the ball.
“Like most of the other bowlers, I’ve been wearing a headband, partly because I’ve not had a haircut, but really to stop any thought of touching my face, for moving hair or dripping sweat.
“We’re being encouraged not to touch our faces.
“It’s all felt unnatural, to be honest, but then again the whole process of training is unusual right now.
“We’re not used to social distancing, taking home our training kit and warming up on our own.”
After three weeks bowling into an empty net Anderson, 37, now has Lancashire team-mate Keaton Jennings for company 22 yards away.
Because West Indies are now based at Old Trafford, Anderson has moved from his home ground and started training at Chester Cricket Club.
The England players are gradually increasing their workloads before assembling at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl on June 23 for group training and an intra-squad match leading into the First Test of three against West Indies on July 8.
Anderson added: “There was probably a point when I thought there wouldn’t be any cricket this summer. That was the chat among the players.
“It didn’t make me think about retirement or anything like that, it just made me want to keep training and stay fit for when the call came — either this summer or in the winter.
“Bowling to Keaton is a nice step in the right direction. Just bowling at stumps can get a bit boring but now it feels like we’re actually gearing up towards playing some cricket.
“I’ve managed to tick over quite well during lockdown. Luckily, I have enough space to fit in half my run-up on my drive at home! So I didn’t go cold into training.
“There are concerns — we won’t have any competitive cricket before that First Test and we have three Tests in quick succession so we must look at workload and whether to rotate bowlers.
“It’s brilliant we’re closing in on some cricket after a decent lay-off. We’re very grateful to the West Indies for coming here.
“With what’s going on in the world, I can imagine it’s a scary decision for them.
“It’s going to be strange to have no fans. We are fortunate in England that we’re used to playing in front of packed houses for Tests.
“It’s something we’ll have to deal with. We’ve played in front of small crowds before, whether in county cricket or abroad in warm-up games.
“You have to find your own energy as a team and don’t have the fans giving you an extra boost at 4pm or 5pm when you’re getting tired.
“We’ll have to rely on our imaginations because there’ll be a lot of people right behind us.”
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sportingexcitement.com/cricket/inside-kevin-pietersens-915-a-night-safari-lodge-in-south-africa-with-swimming-pool-golf-course-and-zip-lining
