Veteran England pacer James Anderson was seen bowling left-arm spin in nets during the ongoing first Test against India in Hyderabad. Anderson was not picked in the England XI for this match, with Mark Wood being the lone pacer.
England opted for three spinners Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, and debutant Tom Hartley. However, their bowling has not been able to contain the Indian batting juggernaut as at the end of the second day’s play, India was 421/7 with a lead of 175 runs.
Tom Hartley, on his debut, has figures of 2/131 in 25 overs, while Rehan Ahmed has 1/105 in 23 overs to his name. Jack Leach has 1/54 in 25 overs, while Joe Root has bowled 24 overs for 2/77. The lone pacer Mark Wood has no wickets for 43 runs in his 13 overs.
Anderson, one of the most skilled and prolific fast bowlers in England's history, was observed practicing left-arm spin, during practice. He got some pointers from Jack Leach and bowled a few deliveries.
Check here:
The video of the same was shown on the big screen and Anderson smiled seeing himself bowling left-arm spin. It had even the on-air commentators in amazement, with Ravi Shastri saying: "It’s coming out nicely. Very nicely. Well done, Jimmy."
He is the highest wicket-taker in England Test history with 690 scalps in 183 Tests with a best of 7/42.