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No James Anderson for Boxing Day Test against South Africa
Anderson, 33, has been ruled out of the series opener in Durban with a right calf strain that has lingered since the start of the trip, though England remain hopeful that he could yet feature in the second Test in Cape Town.
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It’s always a concern if your leading bowler or batter misses a game, but the last time he missed one we did pretty well. “If it gets to that [Anderson being ruled out] we’ve got plenty of cover”.
“If it gets to that we’ve got plenty of cover”, Bayliss said. The gap between the first and the second Test will play the decision-maker for Anderson’s availability in the remainder of the series.
The Proteas are back from a 0-3 drubbing in Tests at the hands of India, having abjectly failed to handle quality spin or turning tracks; this after, winning the One-Day International series 3-2 and taking the Twenty20 International series.
Anderson has bowled just five overs so far during England’s winter tour of South Africa, all of which came during a non-first class game against an Invitation XI in Potchefstroom in early December.
“But there is patchiness and that’s interesting as a bowler because when it doesn’t look completely smooth you know there could be some different bounce off the different parts of the wicket”.
Both teams are coming home from series losses in the subcontinent and will certainly feel more comfortable in “friendlier” conditions in South Africa. “It was a really good experience but I didn’t score the runs I’d have liked”.
England are increasingly mindful of his workload and may blanch at the prospect of committing him to the possibility of 10 days cricket out of 12.
Bayliss was quietly delighted with the way England went about their work in Pietermaritzburg, where they defeated a supposedly strong South Africa A team by an innings and 91 runs.
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Fans booking corporate hospitality for the one-day worldwide between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston next summer will be able to see how Root performs against the same bowling attack, but before that he must face the world’s leading bowler, Dale Steyn, who has been passed fit for South africa. That’s a good sign moving forwards.