“No England batsman was padded up when 20 runs were left to be chased against India,” James Anderson gives a sneak peek into the current mindset of England players

The senior England bowler James Anderson has revealed that no player of the England team was padded up when 20 runs were required for England in the mammoth fourth innings chase that they pulled off against India at Edgbaston.

Anderson said that the team was so confident in the batting abilities of the two batsmen batting out there in the middle that nobody felt the need to get padded up.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were the two batsmen who put on a double hundred partnership after England lost three quick wickets around the tea session on day 4 and they were so clinical in the chase that they didn’t leave the job unfinished for anyone else and hit the winning runs themselves.

James Anderson was recently speaking on a podcast of BBC where he opened up on the current atmosphere of the England dressing room under the new regime of the captain Ben Stokes and the head coach Brendon McCullum.

The atmosphere in England dressing room very relaxed at the moment: James Anderson

Anderson said that the atmosphere is very, very relaxed at the moment and every player is highly confident because of the backing they have received from the new regime.

Jonny Bairstow himself was also featured on the podcast and he reiterated the point that a relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room has gone a long way in improving the performance of the England test team. But, Bairstow stressed the fact that apart from the new management, the relaxation of the COVID protocols has also played its part.

According to Bairstow, the players don’t have to stay put in their rooms all the time now, they can roam outside and the COVID tests are not mandatory every day. On top of that, the dressing room is very relaxed and the players have been given clarity about the kind of roles the management expects them to play. All these factors have elevated England’s standard of performance.