Jimmy Anderson said the five-wicket haul that helped put England in command of this second Test against South Africa made all the pain and sacrifice of his rehabilitation worthwhile.
Anderson was ruled out of last summer’s Ashes as he recovered from a calf injury but his return of five for 40, including the final two South African wickets at the start of this third day, was his 28th five-wicket haul in Tests and takes him past Ian Botham’s England record.
It also helped dismiss the hosts for 223, giving Joe Root’s team a 46-run first-innings lead that was extended to 264 by the end of a day the tourists closed on 218 for four in their second innings.
Now 37, there were fears about the seamer’s future when he struggled to return promptly from the injury to his right calf he sustained on the first day of last summer’s opening Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston.
The Lancashire bowler also missed the first tour of the winter to New Zealand before Christmas as England took a safety-first approach to his comeback.
However, Anderson has proved here that he is back to his best and is loving playing for his country again. “I sat down at the end of day two and that feeling is what I’d missed: that proper hard day of Test cricket,” he said. “It was a real battle. That’s why I still want to play cricket, that’s what I get a buzz off – coming off the field after a day like that. It makes all that hard work I’ve put in and the frustration of missing three or four months worthwhile.”
There were also words of praise for Dominic Sibley, the opener who hit his maiden half-century in his fourth Test and who could go on to reach three figures on day four after he reached the close unbeaten on 85.
“We’ve not only seen that he has the ability to score runs in Test cricket but he’s got the mentality to open the batting, and score big runs and stay at the crease for a long time,” said Anderson. “That’s what we’ve been missing for a couple of years. Hopefully he’s going to cement his place and will get confidence from this knock and go on tomorrow. More importantly, hopefully he can go on in his career in the next few years.”
On a good day for England there was some bad news when it emerged that Rory Burns, Sibley’s opening partner who was ruled out of the rest of this series with an ankle injury sustained playing football on the eve of this Test, is also likely to miss the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in March.
Burns will see a specialist this week to determine whether he needs surgery to repair ligament damage to his left ankle but England are expecting him to miss the last tour of the winter.
