England pacer James Anderson opens up about facing Steve Smith in the 2023 Ashes

England superstar James Anderson has admitted that the former Australia captain Steve Smith achieved much success against his side in the Ashes series of the past, particularly in the 2019 home series. Anderson accepted the fact that England had been guilty of preparing a bit too much to get wickets and highlighted the need for a change in strategy and perspective in the 2023 battle of urn.

Smith has an outstanding Test record in England, averaging 59.55 in 30 innings with six centuries. The right-handed batter was England’s chief nemesis in the 2019 leg as he mustered 774 runs in four Tests at a stunning average of 110 and help the tourists retain the Ashes urn.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Anderson claimed that Smith has had great success against England and they have overdone their efforts to find methods to pull people out.

“I never really like singling anyone out, but he’s had a lot of success against us in recent times. Maybe in the past we’ve actually gone overboard in thinking of ways to get people out,” said Anderson.

“Before that, we were so worried about him that we got Tymal Mills, the left-arm quick, and a few other guys to bowl at us in the nets off 16 yards, and the lads were terrorised before they even started the series. I think if you look too deeply into stuff like that it can affect you in a bad way,” he added.

The veteran seamer continued by saying that England have performed admirably over the past few years and the English batters are currently focusing on their strength.

Captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have significantly changed the game plan of England Test team and they now play aggressive brand of cricket.

“What we’ve done brilliantly in the last 12 months is thinking about what we do well. That’s worked particularly well for the batters not worrying about who’s bowling at them, and just really concentrating on their strengths and the areas they can score in,” concluded Anderson.

Australia will face India in the second edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) final on June 7 at the Oval in London, before turning their attention to the 2023 Ashes beginning on June 16 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground.