James Taylor lauds England pace attack

The recently retired James Taylor may not be playing cricket at the moment, but he is certainly impressed with what he is watching at the moment. The first Test at Headingley saw the visitors have no answer to the pace and swing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Anderson, in particular, picked 10-45 in the match, therefore breaking his nine-year Headingley hoodoo.

In his column for the ‘Evening Standard’, the 24-year old has heaped praise on the two English seamers. Between them, Anderson and Broad have taken a whopping 781 wickets.

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“I believe Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are the best new-ball pair England have ever had. The 781 Test wickets they have taken supports that opinion and they are a nightmare for batsmen to face, especially if conditions are in their favour.”

Taylor added that the key to facing a player like James Anderson was to know where your off stump is.

“When you face him as a right-handed batsman, your best bet is to try to cover his inswinger, the ball that moves back towards you through the air. Against the outswinger, the trick is to understand where your off stump is and leave the ball well — but Jimmy is so skillful that it is no easy task.”

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The 24-year old recently retired England batsman has also stated that the duo has a ‘wobble seam’ delivery that is extremely difficult to face.

“Both he and Stuart have mastered the ‘wobble seam’ delivery, which is very difficult for a batsman because it means the ball can move either way after pitching.”

“Stuart poses a different sort of threat from Jimmy, however. When he first started playing for England in Tests nearly a decade ago, he was a traditional tall, quick bowler who would run it and move it away from the right-handed batsman, off the seam.”

“You might have called him a tearaway bowler: he could rough up batsmen and run through teams but without being particularly consistent. But he has matured so much and the key factor is the way he uses the bowling crease.”