Anderson predicts enforced rests

James Anderson is “desperate” to return to action after missing England’s tour of Bangladesh – but claims it is inevitable that his team-mates will also be forced to take a break this year.

The pace bowler rested a knee injury while England completed whitewashes in the three-match one-day series and two-Test campaign in Bangladesh, which concluded this week with a nine-wicket win in Mirpur.

Captain Andrew Strauss was another notable absentee for the six-week trip, which represented a rare opportunity for both to take time away from the game after a hectic winter and equally busy 12 months ahead.

The World Twenty20 in the West Indies starting in late April is England’s next assignment, before they take on Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan during a congested international summer.

There follows the small matter of England’s Ashes defence in Australia over the winter, followed by the World Cup in the sub-continent which gets under way next February.

Given such a demanding schedule, ECB managing director of cricket Hugh Morris has admitted England must “look very closely” at resting players, and Anderson knows it is unlikely that he and his colleagues will play in every contest.

“With the schedule that we’ve got over the next year, they’ll be resting a few more players along the way,” Anderson said of the selectors.

“They might not want a rotation policy as such, but maybe a one-day series against Australia which takes three weeks out of the summer might be a good chance to rest someone.

“I’m not sure a rotation policy will come in just yet, but it’s getting that way.

“I love playing cricket and playing for England, so I want to play as much as possible. But at the same time I want to be fit for the Ashes at the end of the year.”

The injury remains something of a mystery – but he has experienced no discomfort since having another cortisone injection shortly after England’s return from South Africa in January.

He is now bowling at three-quarter pace in the indoor nets, and has set his sights on making his comeback in Lancashire’s pre-season friendly against Durham UCCE at the Riverside, starting next Saturday.

Having felt “left out” as he was forced to watch England from afar – although he shunned the 3am starts to catch the live television coverage – he is relishing the chance to get back to playing duties.

“I’m just desperate to get out there,” he added. “It feels like quite a long time since we got back from South Africa and I’ve been twiddling my thumbs at home.

“It’s been strange. At first I thought I’d be quite happy not to play on those wickets (in Bangladesh) because they’re not really conducive to seam bowling, but then when you see it reversing you think, actually, I’d like to have a bowl.

“I’m enjoying bowling at the minute and I’m bowling without any pain, albeit a stump indoors. I feel in good rhythm in the nets, but it’s hard to say until you get out into the middle and play a game.”

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Cook: I can still improve as captain

Alastair Cook may have ended his stint as stand-in England captain with a 100% record and two Test centuries but the experience has left him desperate to improve as a leader.

Cook was selected to skipper the Test and one-day sides in Bangladesh with Andrew Strauss not touring and the opener duly delivered whitewashes in both series.

His own form has flourished along the way, a fact underlined by today’s knock of 109 not out which sealed a nine-wicket win in the second Test.

But Cook, for one, is aware that there are lessons to be learned.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more on the tour, we were expected to win 3-0 and 2-0 and we have,” he said. “It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of credit goes to Bangladesh for the way they’ve made us work, especially in the last 10 days, and it’s a very satisfying feeling.

“But the captaincy had its moments. I now know how I need to get better as a captain, especially with my leadership in the dressing room.

“Areas like that that I need to work on. I couldn’t have asked for any more support from the players and coaches and I can now go back, speak to a few people,and get the best out of myself as a captain.

“There are a lot of things (to improve). I didn’t really know what would happen as a captain so there were eye-openers, but they will have to stay private for me to develop as a captain.”

And while Cook must be content with the number of runs he has amassed while in charge of the side - 157 runs at 52 in the ODI campaign and 342 runs at 114 across both Tests - he is happy to be heading back to the ranks for the time being.

“One aspect that’s really pleased me is how I’ve dealt with batting while captaining,” he said. “When I’ve batted, I’ve been able to really concentrate on that.

“But I’ve come in here for five weeks only to be as good a captain as I can be and I’m glad Straussy is coming back.”

England team director Andy Flower was delighted with the performance of his skipper.

“I think the opportunity that was taken to expose him to that sort of experience was very valuable,” said Flower. “He’s grown every day.

"He’s feeling a lot more comfortable about leading. He’s leading with a bat in his hand, in very attacking fashion. And he’s made some really good decisions out in the field. All in all I think he’s done brilliantly.”

Flower knows there is plenty of work still to do ahead of the Ashes defence in Australia but declared himself satisfied with the tour efforts.

“This was a very valuable exercise,” he said. “We had a 10-week tour of South Africa before this. To beat them in the one-day series before this was a great effort. To come out here with different pressure and expectations... we’ve done well.

“There’s a long way to go before we can say we’re the finished article. We might never say that because there are a lot of improvements we have to make.”

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Swann flies up to second

Graeme Swann’s maiden Test 10-wicket haul makes him the second-best bowler in the world, according to the International Cricket Council’s rankings.

The 30-year-old off-spinner, who has moved up three places after England’s victory over Bangladesh at Chittagong, is the first England bowler for six years to be so highly ranked. Steve Harmison was the last, in December 2004 - the same year he topped the rankings

Swann, man of the match at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, has rapidly risen up the bowlers’ rankings from 23rd position only eight months ago. During this period, he has played 10 Tests and has claimed 45 wickets, including 14 against Australia and 21 against South Africa which particularly aided his cause.

In total he has 79 wickets in 17 Tests, meaning he needs another 21 scalps to qualify for a full rating. Despite this, a similar performance in the second Test at Mirpur will see him close the gap further on leader Dale Steyn.

Swann has also risen one place to third in the all-rounders’ rankings, but Stuart Broad, who took three wickets in Chittagong, has fallen from eighth to 11th in the bowlers’ list.

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Finn relieved boot is not on other foot

Steven Finn has revealed how he has swapped an “army boot camp” for an important role in England’s first Test against Bangladesh.

Finn was called into the squad as cover when England’s bowlers suffered a number of injuries, and was a surprise inclusion in Chittagong as the tourists opted against a second spinner on a lifeless track.

The 20-year-old took one wicket in the first innings and has 1-31 from 11 overs in the second, as a gutsy 81-run stand between Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim saw Bangladesh to 191 for five and denied England a four-day victory.

The conditions in Chittagong are hardly those to make a young paceman’s eyes light up, but for Finn it is much preferable to the alternative.

“By no means 10 days ago when I was lying in bed in my flat did I think I would be playing Test match cricket now,” admitted the 6ft 8in bowler.

“In fact, as we speak I would probably be getting woken up by an army officer in Exeter.

“At Middlesex we had an army boot camp planned. Angus (Fraser, director of cricket) said ‘Last year the team went to Dubai and didn’t do very well so you’re going to boot camp this year’.

“I’d be in the middle of a forest in a tent by now probably.”

Finn added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me. Since I was just a little kid this is something that I’ve aimed towards.

“Fundamentally every young lad who plays cricket wants to play Test matches. By no means had I built up a picture in my mind that it was going to be easy and bowling on the flat track out there proved that.”

Finn’s rapid emergence, coupled with an imposing frame that has earned him the nickname of ‘Avatar’ from Graeme Swann, has led to plenty of buzz about his potential.

But while some have tipped him next winter’s Ashes and beyond, Finn is more circumspect in his ambitions.

“I’m not thinking too far ahead,” he said. “A week ago I was just looking hoping to go back to Middlesex, get picked in the first championship team and hopefully take some wickets.

“I’m trying just to take every game of cricket as it comes, whether it’s for Middlesex seconds or England.

“By no means am I targeting an Ashes tour. I’d love to be there but there’s a lot of hard work between now and then.

“I’ve been performing well now for a month but I have to prove I can do that over seven months of a county season.”

Bangladesh, chasing 513, require another 322 runs to force an improbable victory - but will more likely be scrapping for a draw.

And Siddique, who was unbeaten on 68 from 199 balls at stumps, is hoping to stay the course again tomorrow.

“This was the first time I have faced so many balls in a Test match,” he said. “I was committed within myself and I tried to battle using my strengths.

“Things can change overnight but I believe if we can survive a little while it could be a problem for them.

“We will try to occupy the crease and if we can get a good partnership going the positives will come.”

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Moores puts faith in Flintoff

Lancashire coach Peter Moores has “no doubt at all” that Andrew Flintoff will play again.

The all-rounder is currently recovering from knee surgery, the latest in a long line of injuries which have blighted his career and persuaded him to retire from Test cricket last year.

Flintoff, 32, went under the knife in the immediate aftermath of England’s Ashes success in September, and was forced to undergo a further operation in January - and delay his comeback until later this summer.

He admitted for the first time last week that there is a “slim possibility” he will never return to action, but Moores - Flintoff’s former England coach and now in charge of his county side - is unequivocal in his stance.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence - I’ve no doubt at all that he’ll play again,” said Moores, who has seen Flintoff complete lengthy periods of rehabilitation from back, ankle, foot, groin, hip and nose injuries in the past.

“When the surgeon had another look at the knee, the fact that he was happy with it is the main thing - that it’s repaired or repairing well.

“Fred has got to do his rehab but he has shown in the past that when there’s a will for him to do it, and he strongly wants to play, he’ll come through.

“Having watched Fred do his rehab before - he knows how to do it, he’s very disciplined, he’s quite long in the tooth, he’s been in international sport for 13-14 years, he doesn’t need someone to hold his hand - I’m very confident he’ll play again.”

As ever with injuries, particularly to a player with Flintoff’s track record, Moores admits luck will play its part in his recovery - and subsequent return to competitive duty.

“It’s down to the surgeon to do his bit and Fred to do his part. Now we’re down to that bit, and hopefully it works,” he added.

“He’s got to do his stuff if he wants to play. The key will be how it stands up over time and the pressure of playing, which nobody will know.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan called time on his playing career last summer due to a long-standing knee problem, citing a lack of desire to spend the majority of his time in the gym.

Flintoff, however, has never made any secret of his ambition to feature in England’s World Cup campaign next year, and committed his future to Lancashire by signing a three-year contract.

While Moores claims no-one could have any complaints if Flintoff followed Vaughan’s example and called time on a career that saw him earn hero status, it is a scenario he does not predict happening any time soon.

“Michael had got to the stage where he’d played, he’d done it and he knew he’d done his stuff. He decided that was his time,” said Moores.

“If Fred didn’t want to play he wouldn’t. He desperately wants to play and he feels like he’s still got unfinished business; he’s still got more cricket to play.

“If Fred turned round at some stage and said, ‘I’ve had enough’, I think we’d all respect that - very much. He’s had a fantastic career, he’s influenced big series at big times and been a big-match player.

“But at the moment I get the impression that he wants to do well for Lancashire, which is great because he loves the club. It would be a fantastic finish for him to come here and help us win something.”

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Broad to miss final ODI

England seamer Stuart Broad has been ruled out of tomorrow's third one-day international against Bangladesh in Chittagong due to a back complaint.

Broad experienced discomfort during his second over in Tuesday's series-clinching win but bowled four more before leaving the field for treatment.

The paceman was walking gingerly yesterday after arriving in Chittagong and did not take part in this morning's net session.

He will undergo an MRI scan tomorrow, along with fellow seamer Graham Onions who also has a back problem, with the results known in the afternoon.

With Ryan Sidebottom already out with a thigh problem, there could be an ODI debut for Ajmal Shahzad, though Durham bowler Liam Plunkett is also available.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh have added seamer Nazmul Hossain to their squad for tomorrow’s match.

Nazmul, the 14th member of the Tigers’ party, bolsters their new-ball options in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, who withdrew from the series to be with his ill mother.

The uncapped all-rounder Nasir Hossain was added in Mortaza’s place ahead of the second match in Mirpur.

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Morgan wins ECB increment contract

The ECB has announced that Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan, who scored his maiden one-day international century for England against Bangladesh yesterday, has been awarded an incremental contract for 2009-10.

The 23-year-old left-hander qualifies for the award by virtue of having played in six ODIs up to and including yesterday’s match against Bangladesh, along with four Twenty20 internationals over the current contract period.

Non-contracted players can earn an England increment contract via a points system. Five points are awarded for a Test appearance and two for a T20 or ODI appearance, with an increment contract being awarded automatically once the player reaches 20 points during the 12-month contract period.

Hugh Morris, ECB managing director - England Cricket, said: “Eoin has made excellent progress since making his England debut against West Indies last summer and is now an established member of our one-day and T20 sides.

“He has fully justified the faith the selectors have shown in him and has the potential to develop his game still further.”

Morgan played 23 ODIs for Ireland and scored his first century against Canada in Nairobi in 2007.

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