Former England player Mark Butcher said that pace spearhead James Anderson’s lack of impact in the first Ashes Test was due to rust. However, the veteran was surprised by Anderson’s take of not wanting to play if there is no improvement in the pitches. However, Anderson could only pick one wicket in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, criticized the pitch at the venue for being non-responsive via his column in The Telegraph as well. And he also stated that he is done in the Ashes if the tracks remain like these for the rest of the series.

In his column for Sky Sports, Butcher added, “Jimmy Anderson has also come out and been critical of the pitch prepared for the first Test. Conditions certainly didn’t offer him, or any of the seamers, a great deal. He didn’t have his best game, but Jimmy is a master in all conditions nowadays, so it may have been a little bit of rust after his groin injury.”

Meanwhile, seeing Anderson’s nature, the veteran also feels it was surprising to see him speak candidly.

He said: “He has worked unbelievably hard to be able to make something happen even in the flattest conditions and you very rarely hear him moan about surfaces. So that’s interesting in itself, the fact that he’s decided to go public about what he thought.”

However, James Anderson, who has picked up 686 scalps in 180 Tests, has been England’s pace spearhead in the red-ball since decades. Meanwhile, Butcher has also remarked on England’s struggles with their pace bowlers as well, saying:

“England’s problems with extreme pace are well documented, you’ve got injuries all over the place – Jofra Archer out before the series even started, Olly Stone injured and we’re not entirely sure about Mark Wood’s status at the moment.”

However, England lost by two wickets in the first Test at Edgbaston and Pat Cummins-led Australia will be keen to carry forward the winning momentum in the second Test at Lord’s, which starts on June 28 as well.