While conditions in UK these days are considered among the toughest to encounter in modern-day Test cricket, England pace spearhead James Anderson reckons that's not really the case from where he is looking at things, especially during the ongoing Ashes, which the hosts just conceded to Australia after a humbling defeat in Manchester last week.
"I think they've probably suited Australia more than us," Anderson, who was ruled out of this Ashes with a calf injury, was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz in his "brutally honest" assessment of the decks used in the series.
"I would have liked to have seen a bit more grass but that's the nature of the game here. When you're selling out - like Lancashire selling out five days of Test cricket - it's hard not to produce a flat deck but, you know, that's one of the frustrations from a player's point of view. We go to Australia and get pitches that suit them. They come over here and get pitches that suit them. It doesn't seem quite right."
Anderson, who has been one of the finest exponents of English conditions, further said: "Even like last year - I thought they were good pitches here against India. I thought they weren't green seamers but I thought they suited us more than India."
"We as a country or cricket team, cricket board, don't use home advantage enough. As I said when you go to Australia, go to India, Sri Lanka, they prepare pitches that suit them. I feel like we could just be a little bit more biased towards our own team."
Though, Anderson reserved special praise for Australian pacers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for their outstanding performances across the four Tests. The duo has taken 24 and 18 wickets, respectively.
"Their bowlers have just been pretty relentless - so consistent in the areas they've bowled," said Anderson. "Pat Cummins is the best bowler in the world because he hits the top of off stump at 85mph-plus regularly, and he' got a really good Plan B - bowls a good bouncer. It's quite simple what they do, but it's really effective because they do it so consistently," he concluded.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
