News

Anderson axed for Stanford showdown

James Anderson will miss England's US$20million showdown against the Stanford Superstars on Saturday

Cricinfo staff
31-Oct-2008

Andrew Flintoff in contemplative mood ahead of the million-dollar match on Saturday © Getty Images
 
James Anderson will miss England's US$20million showdown against the Stanford Superstars on Saturday, after it was decided that the second spinner, Graeme Swann, had to play a role on a pitch that has proven to be slow and low in the five matches of the tournament to date.
Anderson, 26, has been an integral part of England's one-day side for over a year, and looked finally to have cemented his role in the side after spending the early part of his England career in the shadow of his senior colleagues. However, with Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison providing the pace injection, and Stuart Broad's all-round talents too valuable to sacrifice, England's captain, Kevin Pietersen, was forced to make one of the toughest selection decisions of his career.
"It was never going to be the easiest decision, in fact it was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in terms of carrying 11 players on the field," said Pietersen. "It has been very difficult for him, especially being an integral part of the team for the past 12 months, but he has taken it brilliantly well, he has been absolutely fantastic at training."
"We haven't played a second spinner for I don't know how long, but unfortunately conditions have meant Jimmy has to miss out. We realise that we play to win for England and unfortunately the circumstances have arisen in terms of the pitch, and the outfield, and the way games have gone. We have to play another spinner."
The Superstars captain, Chris Gayle, could not resist a bit of a dig at England's selection when informed of Anderson's omission. "I am a bit scared of Anderson, so that's good," he said. "He swings the ball a bit, so I am glad he is not playing."
The other three players to miss the chance of becoming instant dollar millionaires are Ryan Sidebottom, Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara. Though Cook and Bopara were never realistically in with a chance of playing, Sidebottom's left-arm variation could conceivably have muscled into the starting eleven. However, a slight calf injury undermined his readiness, and his match-fitness was described as "there or thereabouts".
One man who might feel slightly fortunate to have made the cut is the Sussex allrounder, Luke Wright, who has been a peripheral figure throughout the tournament. He has not been called upon to bat or bowl as yet, but Pietersen is aware that his time could be just around the corner. "Luke hasn't done anything right, and he hasn't done anything wrong," he said, "but there will come a time when we need him to give it some pongo at the death and it may be tomorrow night."
England 1 Ian Bell, 2 Matt Prior, 3 Kevin Pietersen (capt), 4 Owais Shah, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Luke Wright, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steve Harmison.