England can achieve great things - James Anderson

 

 

Second Test: England v India

• Venue: Trent Bridge
• Date: 29 July - 2 August
• Start time: 1100 BST
• Coverage: Live ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave & BBC Sport website; live video scorecard on Red Button (not Freeview); live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile; watch live on Sky Sports (subscription required); highlights on Channel 5

 

 

Pace bowler James Anderson says England can achieve "great things" as they move nearer to topping the world Test rankings for the first time.

England, 1-0 up in the four-Test series with India, will take the number one spot with victory by two Tests or more.

"Everyone's chipping in. If we need someone to step up, generally someone is doing that," said Anderson.

"We're trying to improve each day, as individuals and as a team. If we can do that, we know we can do great things."

Anderson, 28, took seven wickets in the first Test at Lord's, including 5-65 in the second innings, to help England record a 196-run win over the tourists.

 

BBC Sport - England can achieve great things - James Anderson

 

"Lord's has gone now," he added. "We enjoyed that last day, enjoyed winning.

"Becoming the number one team in the world is an overriding goal, but it's not something we go into each game thinking about."

Anderson's call for England to consign the first Test to history was backed by Stuart Broad, who enjoyed a return to form in the first Test, taking seven wickets and scoring 74 second-innings runs.

"We're delighted with the win but it means nothing unless we play well at Trent Bridge," he said.

"India will come back hard at us and it will be a very exciting Test. The great thing about Trent Bridge is that you always know you're in at as a bowler with the wicket and that creates interesting cricket."

While England are prepared for India to up their game, the tourists are set to line up on Friday without left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan, who limped out of the attack at Lord's with a hamstring injury.

"I am not 100% sure if we will play Zaheer or not," said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"We don't want to risk anyone if that only increases the chances of him getting injured further. It is very important to get the guys fully fit."

If Zaheer is ruled out, his place will be taken by either Munaf Patel or Sreesanth, with the latter more likely to get the nod.

The tourists were also hampered at Lord's by an illness to batsman Sachin Tendulkar and an elbow injury sustained fielding by opener Gautam Gambhir, meaning that their batting order had to be rejigged in the second innings.

Remaining fixtures - England v India

Continue reading the main story

Second Test - 29 July - 2 August, Trent Bridge

Third Test - 10 - 14 August, Edgbaston

Fourth Test - 18-22 August, The Oval

"It was tough for some of our batsmen because most of them were batting in different slots from their original number," added Dhoni.

"Sachin was much better [on Monday] but I wouldn't say he was 100%.

"Rahul Dravid opened, Sachin had to bat at a different number, Gautam batted at a different number. That also added pressure.

"Most of the things that could have gone wrong in the game really went wrong. It was tough for both the bowlers and the batsmen."