Sunday 6 August 2017 09:53, UK
Michael Atherton praises James Anderson's consistency, sympathises with Jonny Bairstow after his 99 and talks DRS after England assumed control of the fourth Test in Manchester...
The pavilion end at Old Trafford was renamed the James Anderson End this week and the man himself got his first wicket from his own end quickly.
It was a brilliant ball to get rid of Dean Elgar - absolutely plumb, no doubt about that, and there was a fantastic reaction from Anderson and the crowd.
He's such a consistent bowler now, he very rarely bowls a bad spell and there is just enough in the pitch - he might have got Theunis de Bruyn earlier, Keaton Jennings put down a very difficult chance - but Anderson is going to be threatening whenever he bowls.
I think on this surface, there is just enough there to keep him interested and he's bowling well in the series. Old Trafford is not really a swinging ground, it swung for a bit but hasn't after about 10 overs so I think Moeen Ali will be very important with the bounce and a bit of spin and drift.
Anderson would dearly love a five-for here on his home ground though, and he is getting closer to that 500 Test wicket mark, which would be a fantastic achievement for a fast bowler. He's 35, in pretty good nick and going strong.
Meanwhile, it will have been very disappointing for Jonny Bairstow not to get a hundred earlier in the day, he would have loved to get a hundred here.
But, if you look at it logically, you'd settle for 99 at the start of any innings. He played beautifully, showed great invention and batted really well with the tail.
I got out twice on 99 in Test cricket so I know what it is like be out in the 90s so I might have had a quiet word with Jimmy after he played that reverse sweep. But to be fair to Anderson, after that he played pretty well, stuck around and Jonny had his chance to go to his century but didn't quite manage it.
I still think the balance of the team is right and that seven is a good place for him to bat. The personnel higher up may need to be tweaked a bit but I think the overall balance of the side is good.
Bairstow would feel that he is good enough to bat anywhere but you have to get the right balance of the team. With five bowlers as England have, Ben Stokes at six and Bairstow at seven and - I know Ali is an all-rounder - but essentially your bowlers behind him and the batters above Stokes, that is the right balance.
And, of course, Bairstow is a very powerful and inventive player so he bats really well with the lower order.
England have tremendous depth with Bairstow coming in at seven and Ali at eight and they got a score that is very competitive. If you get above 350 on a pitch that is doing a bit, you are in the game.
There was some discussion over Bairstow's dismissal and it was very tight. You could argue it was swings and roundabouts because I think he was probably lucky to have the decision overturned last night when he was on four, caught at slip. I couldn't particularly see why that was overturned.
That is the game in a sense and those are the DRS rules we play to at the moment, where the all important thing is the umpire's decision. That provides a bit of extra latitude when it is given out on the field.
I don't have any problems with the system as it is, I know certain people do but I think it works pretty well. Technology has enhanced the game and the DRS system works pretty well as it is, most people know where they stand.
Looking ahead to day three and England will be very confident if, as they should from this point, they get a lead or even parity after the first innings. After that, the third innings should give them the advantage of bowling last in the game.
It is hard work to bowl sides out and get 20 wickets at Old Trafford but usually by the fifth day there is a bit in it for the bowlers so England will be hoping to be competitive on first innings and then get in a good position for the last day.
