Anderson's honest confession: 'At the moment I am not finding the knack'

James Anderson has had a subpar start to the 2023 Ashes, not being as effective with ball in hand as he has been in the past. The senior most member of England's Ashes outfit, he was expected to be the leader of the pace attack, but a combination of unhelpful wickets and unthreatening bowling by Anderson has meant he has played third fiddle to Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson in Edgbaston and Lord's so far.

Writing in his column for the Telegraph, Anderson was frank about his performances not living up to expectations and the standard he has set for himself over a long and illustrious career. "I will be honest, you want to contribute in the big series and I cannot remember having two such quiet games in a row for at least the past 10 years," wrote the seamer.

"I feel like I have always contributed at some stage. But I do not think I am bowling particularly badly; I am just going through a lean patch, which you do not want to happen in an Ashes ... I am saying lean patch but it is only two games out of 181." Anderson has taken 688 wickets in that 181-match career, good for being the most prolific pace bowler in the history of the format, and only behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

Anderson had expressed his disappointment in the tepid and lifeless Edgbaston pitch, calling it his 'kryptonite'. However, he didn't want to make excuses for himself, having a different standard even on less assistive wickets.

"I am not going to criticise the pitch again. They have not suited me so far but I have found ways of getting wickets in the past on flat pitches. At the moment I am just not finding that knack."

Anderson remained critical of the kind of cricket the pitches so far have forced the teams into playing. Both matches have gone in Australia's favour, but could easily have been draws if not for the ultra-aggressive manner of England's batting. "However, when you see the best bowlers in the world slamming it into the middle of the pitch, it is not great viewing. If you asked all the bowlers on show at Lord's, they will say they want to try other skills as well."

Anderson was also quick to warn his readers not to pin his poor performances on age. Although he is approaching his 41st birthday, he has shown he has the quality and fitness to continue being an asset for England, something he continued to reiterate.

"It comes with the territory at my age for people to speculate about my future. But I understand. It is a high-profile series and you get put under the spotlight a bit more and the easy target is to say he is getting on a bit. But the reason I have not taken wickets is not because of my age."

"I am not thinking about the future. The future for me is just thinking about Thursday and the start of the next Test. That is as far ahead as I will look. If I get the nod, I will put in a performance the team need. If not, I will keep working hard and play a role at some stage across the series," concluded Anderson. England's selection choices for the third Test in Leeds aren't clear, but Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes might opt for extra pace through Mark Wood, or a more typical number 8 in Chris Woakes after the tail looked long at Lord's.

The third Test at Headingley begins on 6 July, and England will need to bounce back quickly if they want to challenge for the Ashes having gone down 2-0.