'They're going to fight fire with fire' - James Anderson expects exciting Ashes series against Australia

Veteran English pacer James Anderson, who will be turning 41 in July 2023, is gearing up for another memorable Ashes against the Aussies later this year. The Englishman reckoned that the upcoming Ashes will be more competitive that the previous one, with a resurgent English team looking to claim their first Ashes series since 2015 against the Australian juggernaut.

The England Test side has been a revelation under the regime of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. They have blown away opposition without a tinge of mercy, playing with unmatchable swagger and finesse. James Anderson, who is going strong at the ripe age of 40, expects an exciting series against the Aussies as they are going to fight 'fire with fire' against England's Bazball.

"It's exciting to be on this team. Whoever we play it's going to be fun, we're going to give it a good crack, and Australia in the summer could just be incredible. I can't see them (the Australians) doing anything but going toe-to-toe. They're going to fight fire with fire and that's going to make it so explosive and exciting," Anderson said on the Tailenders podcast.

Anderson wasn't too sure about Stokes' leadership qualities

Talking about the leadership qualities of his red-ball skipper Ben Stokes, Anderson was pleasantly surprised with the way he led the turnaround for the English team last year. The mercurial all-rounder took over the leadership mantle when Joe Root decided to step down from his role after a series of poor results in the longest format of the game.

“I'll be brutally honest, I didn't know if he did have it. He's always had a great cricket brain, he's always been someone who thinks a lot about it and has been very good as a player tactically. But I didn't know he had this sort of side to him.

"I've always had him down as a lead-by-example guy – he's always trained the hardest, he's always bowled the long spells, put his body on the line diving around in the field. But actually, he is just incredible. The emotional intelligence around the group, managing the players, managing what comes with it as well, just taking the pressure off them,” Anderson added.