Jimmy Anderson has wanted to “turn round and go home” when reaching the gates at Headingley in the past but, after his 19th five-wicket haul in Test cricket ravaged Sri Lanka, the leader of England’s attack admitted the place was starting to grow on him.
The home of Yorkshire cricket had been Anderson’s least productive ground on English soil going into the first Test, with his seven previous matches in Leeds returning 19 wickets at 41 runs apiece and ending in defeat five times. Speaking with the tourists one for no loss following on after being bowled out for 91, Anderson put his figures of five for 16 down to a change of plan from previous summers, with new-ball partner Stuart Broad himself picking up four for 21.
“Me and Stuart have just had a chat and said it has taken us nine years to realise we are bowling at the wrong ends here,” said Anderson, who bowled exclusively from the Rugby Stand End, while Broad came down the hill from the direction of Kirkstall Lane. “We finally figured it out and got some rewards. We’ve hated the place for so long and our records are so poor we thought, why not? There’s nothing to lose. The pitch is very different to a normal Headingley pitch, there is more in it for the bowlers. We just thought we’d give it a go. That’s how deeply we think about things.”
Anderson’s haul moved him past India’s Kapil Dev into sixth in the Test wicket-taking list, with 438 in total, while Jonny Bairstow became just the second England wicketkeeper to take five catches in one innings and score a century in the same match, a feat Matt Prior achieved twice in his career. Bairstow’s 140, which transcended the conditions and continued his outstanding form with the bat, was a first for the Yorkshireman in England, coming on his home ground and following on from his breakthrough international hundred, an unbeaten 150 against South Africa at Cape Town in January.
In an interview with Guardian at the start of the week Bairstow spoke about the strength of his family following the death of his father David, the former Yorkshire wicketkeeper, when he was eight years old and made a point of picking out his mother Janet, who works at the club, during the celebrations.
He said: “Mum was here and I knew exactly where she was. The Cape Town knock was very special for many reasons and to make one at my home ground, with all the history and heritage, not just Yorkshire and England but family-wise too, was really pleasing. I’m sure she will have had a glass of wine to celebrate.
“It’s not sunk in yet but it’s pleasing for me to back up what I did in the winter. I wanted to start strongly for England this summer and there’s no better place than at your home ground. I got a bit lucky [when dropped on 40 on the first day] but when things are going your way you have got to cash in.”
On England’s decision to enforce the follow-on, Anderson said: “There was a lot of chat on the field about the follow-on and in an ideal world we would have batted. But, with the weather forecast a bit iffy, we had to put them in again. I doubt it will be as easy, we probably won’t bowl them out for 90 again, but I think we can put them under pressure.”
England’s decision to bowl again came in spite of a knee injury suffered by the all-rounder Ben Stokes, who left the field after bowling seven overs and claiming one wicket in Sri Lanka’s first innings.
