Johannesburg, Aug 20: England pace bowler James Anderson has said that the fall-out from his row with Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja helped him star in a 3-1 Test series win against India. England wrapped up the five-match contest with a colossal innings and 244-run victory, completed inside three days, at The Oval on Sunday.
Spearhead pacer Anderson was named England's man-of-the-series after taking 25 wickets at an average of 20.60 as he made inroads into India's top order, Sport24 reported. Anderson's sparkling form prompted a succession of increasingly low totals that culminated with the tourists' humiliating 94 all out in their second innings at The Oval. But had India had their way, the seamer would not have been playing at all by that stage.
Indian management had brought a Level Three charge under the International Cricket Council's code of conduct, alleging that Anderson had abused and pushed Jadeja in a pavilion incident during the drawn first Test at Trent Bridge. The ICC code of conduct commissioner and former Australia batsman Gordon Lewis dismissed the charges and also rescinded the 50 percent match fee fine imposed on Jadeja by match referee David Boon.
However, what did emerge from the hearing was Anderson's fondness for some pretty crude 'sledging' or verbal abuse of opposition batsmen out in the middle. And in the light of that, Anderson said he had tried to let his bowling, above all else, do the talking for him. The pacer said that possibly, in the last few games, he has concentrated more on being aggressive with the ball rather than my mouth, adding that he thinks he tried to be as aggressive.
Anderson also said that whether he tried to say any less, he doesn't know. But, he added that he thinks the Jadeja incident made him more determined to perform on the field. Anderson insisted that he was not about to abandon his aggressive on-field style that he believes has been a key to a career that has now seen him take 380 wickets in 99 Tests.
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