"I don’t see tomorrow being any different"- James Anderson claims England will attack by 'putting pressure on opposition'

Jonny Bairstow holds the key for England on Day 3.
Jonny Bairstow holds the key for England on Day 3.

Legendary England pacer James Anderson bagged his 32nd fifer in Tests on Saturday at Edgbaston in Birmingham. However, England overall didn't have a great outing and are reeling at 84/5 at the end of Day 2, trailing by a mammoth 332 runs.

Nevertheless, with captain Ben Stokes and the dangerous Jonny Bairstow still at the crease, Anderson believes England will look to counter-attack and put the Indian bowlers under pressure.

Speaking to reporters after the end of Day 2, Anderson explained how England have rescued themselves from a similar situation against New Zealand in their previous series.

He said:

"I’ve got a fair feeling that our best line of defence tomorrow will be attack. The way Brendon (McCullum) and Stokesy have gone about the last few weeks, the way we have got ourselves out of sticky situations in the last few weeks has been by trying to put pressure back on the opposition. I don’t see tomorrow being any different."

Anderson also spoke about how England have embraced the new style of batting preached by head coach Brendon McCullum.

He added:

"Our batters are naturally aggressive. We want to score and move the game forward. That is what we will try and do. Unless we get a message otherwise, I think that will be pretty much the way we play."

"We have been in this position before" - James Anderson

James Anderson accepted that England are in a pretty difficult situation at the moment. However, he hasn't ruled out a miraculous comeback, as he feels the hosts have a lot of players who thrive when their backs are up against the wall.

He stated:

"We are up against it, but we have been in this position before through this summer. We have plenty of guys willing to fight and get us back into the game."

If England are to come back into the game, they will need Stokes and Bairstow to emulate what Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja did in the first innings.

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