James Anderson makes extraordinary England claim after epic Pakistan victory
Veteran seamer James Anderson believes England’s extraordinary victory over Pakistan is the best win he’s ever been involved in.
On a lifeless Rawalpindi pitch, England refused to settle for a draw and were duly rewarded for their efforts as they forced a remarkable win. And Anderson was delighted with the victory, calling it the greatest of his 19-year Test career.
Only India legend Sachin Tendulkar has played more Tests than Anderson’s 176 and the 40-year-old told the BBC : “I feel like it’s the best win I’ve been involved in away from home and at all really.
“That wicket was so flat and unresponsive. The way we batted allowed us to set something up. It gave us time to set something up the back end. Today was a monumental effort. Stokes put in one of his spells as usual and we got over the line.
“I think the satisfaction you get from getting a win on a pitch like that, the way we’ve all played it should give us confidence, we had a good summer, we knew it was going to be a challenge and we all stepped up.
“It was a plan that was working well. It was working for us. Today it was more of a case of bowling tradition lengths and execute your skills as good as you could. I personally always believed that we were bowling well enough and I kept the faith until the end.”
Anderson was also full of praise for England captain Ben Stokes for “thinking outside the box”. He told Sky Sports : “He is someone you want to play for.
“He gives you so much confidence and the way he knows what he wants to do. He thinks about things a lot. The fields he sets and the way he tells you what to do is great.
“He is trying to do things differently. Thinking outside the box which is what you need on a pitch like this.”
