'It is designed to distract us' - James Anderson hits back at Tim Paine over 'dangerous' pre-Ashes comments

Veteran England pacer James Anderson has hit back at the Australian Test captain Tim Paine for his recent comments on the Ashes 2021-22. The Aussie skipper has been involved in some pre-series banter with the English team through his radio show. In the recent few matches, there has been a lot of speculation as far as the Ashes is concerned.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has now announced a full-strength squad. However, just a couple of weeks ago, there were rumors that ECB could pull out or even send a team with a bunch of young players, with the senior pros having reservations to visit Australia in the middle of the pandemic, which has forced authorities to have stricter rules Down Under. 

When all of the itineraries were not confirmed, Paine took a few shots at the English players saying “no one is forcing” them to come down to Australia and “if you don’t want to come, don’t come.” He also said that the Ashes were going to happen whether Joe Root comes or not. Anderson expressed that it is dangerous if someone talks like that especially when there were serious concerns over mental health, bubble fatigue and restrictions. 

Our job is not really to get involved in any off-field war of words: James Anderson

“It is dangerous to start talking like that, especially when we already have one player missing because he is looking after his mental health. I get it that this is an Ashes series and we are going to have this bit of pantomime stuff away from the cricket, but let’s keep it respectable,” James Anderson told the Daily Telegraph.

The kind of pre-series chatter in which Paine has been involved is not something that hasn’t been done before by the Aussies. The veteran pacer said it is important for his team to stay focused despite everything that is being said. 

“It is designed to distract us. There are always little things that crop up. That is inevitable but it is important we try to focus as much as we can on cricket. That is our job. Our job is not really to get involved in any off-field war of words. We have to focus on our jobs on the field and perform for our country,” Anderson added.