Anderson to continue comeback at quicks’ camp in Potchefstroom

England fast bowler James Anderson aims to prove his fitness ahead of the tour to South Africa when a seamers’ camp sets up in Potchefstroom.

Anderson is part of a group of quicks sent on a camp before a tour where fast bowling will play an enormous role.

The veteran quick says he has recaptured his hunger for the game after enduring a frustrating 2019.

Technical tweaks to prolong career

Anderson has made some technical tweaks to his game with the hope of prolonging his career.

“When I felt the calf go, it was in that first three or four paces of my run-up, trying to get up to speed really quickly,” he told the Daily Mail before leaving for South Africa.

“Lengthening my run-up just gives me that little bit extra time to gradually build up the pace rather than pushing off too quickly and putting too much pressure on it.

“I’ve changed the running technique a little bit, too, to use my legs a bit more to generate more momentum up to the crease.”

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Anderson has bowled just four overs for England in the past nine months, but he says that time away from the game helped him rediscover his hunger to play Test cricket.

“The biggest thing to come out of that for me was actually the hunger,” he said. “I found I had to try to get fit again because it would have been quite easy for me, especially after the third time I injured my calf trying to get ready for the Old Trafford Test, to say, ‘Sod it, I can’t do this anymore’.

“I guess when you get to a certain age you start thinking about the next chapter. And people have always said to me that you just know when it’s time to finish.

“But I went away that week, on holiday with the family to Corfu, just to get away from it because I was feeling quite low having worked hard to get back fit. And at the end of it, in conversation with my wife Daniella, she was like, ‘Why would you stop?’

“It’s not as if I’m unfit. Getting injured is just a thing that happens and as I get older, yes, there might be the odd extra muscle injury that I’ve got to deal with. But my injury record’s been pretty good and I’m still in the top 10 bowlers in the world, even though I’ve not played for longer than six months.”

Anderson wants another go at the Ashes

Anderson said that he hopes to play in one more Ashes series despite the fact he will be 39-years-old when England travel to Australia in 2021. The quick isn’t getting ahead of himself though and aims simply to get back to his best and contribute towards the team’s efforts in South Africa.

“I know everyone’s talking about the Ashes in two years’ time, which is a long way away, and I’d be 39 by then,” he said, “but if I still feel like I do at the minute, if I keep working as hard as I am in the gym and at my game, then I don’t see any reason why I can’t make that trip.

“But whether I do or I don’t, I still feel that in the near future I’ve got something to offer this team, both in performances on the field and around the group.

“We’ve got young lads coming in, some fairly inexperienced players who might need some guidance. I feel like the more experience you’ve got around the group, around those younger players, the better really.”

England play two warm-up tour matches ahead of the first Test against the Proteas starting on Boxing Day at Supersport Park in Centurion.