Veteran England seamer James Anderson believes that beating Australia in their backyard is not an impossible task. He added that victories by India and South Africa in Australia have given the tourists a confidence of replicating something similar in the 2021/22 Ashes.
England had won the 2010/11 Ashes 3-1. Post that, England haven’t won a single in Australia, losing the 2013/14 and 2017/18 series by 5-0 and 4-0, respectively.
“We know they are beatable in Australia. We’ve seen teams do it. It’s not like years ago when they were such a dominant force, you would go there tentatively. India have won their last two tours here; South Africa have won here. It’s not an impossible task,” said Anderson on the BBC’s Project Ashes podcast.
The 39-year-old pointed out that starting well at The Gabba will be important as the 2010/11 Ashes victory began with a draw at the same venue in 2010. For the uninitiated, England have not won at The Gabba since 1986. But that could change as Australia’s 23-year undefeated streak at that venue was brought to an end by India in January this year. “If you lose at the Gabba, it’s a real uphill struggle from there. When we came away from Brisbane with a draw in 2010, that set the series up for us.”
Anderson feels that England have got the players who can lead the tourists to winning the Ashes. England are led by their captain Joe Root, who is the top-run scorer in Test cricket this year. They also have the services of all-rounder Ben Stokes and Anderson’s red-ball partner Stuart Broad.
“We believe we have got a group of players who can win. I’m not just saying that. Quite often you do say that because you have to be positive, but we do genuinely believe we can win out here. We’ve got some world-class players. We’ve got the best batsman in the world and the best all-rounder in the world. We truly believe we’ve got a good chance.”
