England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, has defended the decision of legendary pacer James Anderson to delay his arrival in Pakistan for the ongoing Test series. Anderson, who is now the team’s bowling coach, is participating in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a pro-am golf competition in Scotland.
As a result, Anderson missed the pre-series presentation for the three Tests in Pakistan and will not arrive until October 8, the second day of the first Test match. However, he has maintained contact with the English pacers, an inexperienced line-up led by veteran Chris Woakes and featuring youngsters Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse.
McCullum defended Anderson’s delayed arrival, saying, “Two months ago, you guys were saying he did not deserve to be the coach. Now we are missing him. That is affirmation of how good an impact Jimmy Anderson has made in the short period of time [during] his transition from player to coach.”
He also emphasized that Anderson has made a huge transition from a bowler to coach following a career over two decades and that his role is not full time.
Pakistan is currently playing England in a three-match series, with the first Test at Multan starting today. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
England is at the fourth place in the ICC World Test Championship standings with eight wins, seven losses, and a draw after series wins against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is eighth in the standings after their series loss to Bangladesh at home.
