England suffered a one-run after enforcing follow-on on the recent Test tour of New Zealand.
Veteran pacer James Anderson was part of the contest where England were at the receiving end of a heartbreaking loss. In fact, he was the last man to be dismissed as the Kiwis snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Speaking on Tailenders podcast, Anderson vented out his frustration at follow-on, calling it the ‘worst invention’ ever in cricket history.
“The follow-on is just the worst thing… the worst invention ever. If I could make a change, I’d just banish the follow-on," Anderson said.
“I think we did 210 overs in the field, straight. We knew historically the pitch at Wellington just gets better and better, so we thought that no matter what they get ahead of us, we could chase. It was still doing a bit as well, they just played a lot better in their second innings … it was just hard work," he added.
Anderson, who tickled one down the leg side to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell while facing Neil Wagner, feels that the ball before his dismissal should have been given a wide.
“I watched (it) sail over my head," Anderson said. “I looked at (the) square leg (umpire), then I looked at Rod Tucker the umpire … and I was like ‘That’s gone a foot over my head’ and he was like ‘Don’t be silly mate, it’s not gone a foot over your head’. Any other time in the game, that’s given a wide."