Anderson: We will fight hard to the end
England fast bowler James Anderson refused to give in to negative feelings, saying his team-mates were still looking on the bright side and would fight as hard as possible despite being in dire straits in Brisbane.
England fast bowler James Anderson refused to give in to negative feelings, saying his team-mates were still looking on the bright side and would fight as hard as possible despite being in dire straits in Brisbane.
England reached stumps on day three on 24 for two, and still 537 runs behind the impossible target (the Test record chase is 418) after David Warner And Michael Clarke's centuries gave Australia a declaration on 401 for seven in the evening session.
England then lost Michael Carberry and Jonathan Trott cheaply, but Anderson refused to think of the match as a done deal, saying England would fight hard over the next two days and defend their eight remaining wickets.
Anderson told Sky Sports: "We are in a tricky position and need to show a lot of fight and character tomorrow, which we know we've got. We've shown it in the past.
"The pace isn't a worry. We've faced much quicker than this in previous series and the batsmen are used to it.
"We prepared for them bowling quick at us and we have a lot of quality, a lot of fighting spirit and can come back stronger."
The fast bowler insisted England had done relatively well on the day, taking seven wickets, though they gave up nearly 350 runs in less than three session thanks to Graeme Swann in particular being targeted.
He said that the reason the hosts felt free to play their shots was because they didn't have to start from zero, thanks to the hefty lead they already held once England were all out for 136 on day two.
The Lancashire paceman added: "After yesterday's performance with the bat, we were always going to struggle creating pressure with the ball when they're in a such a good position.
"There is not much pressure on their batsmen when they have got a 150-run lead to start with. I thought we fought really well with the ball, created chances and got wickets at certain times.
"With the runs on the board and the lead they had, they could play with a bit more freedom and attack Swanny (spinner Graeme Swann) a bit more – and that is going to put pressure on the rest of us.
"That was one of those things because of the lead they had. The way we performed in the first innings with the bat wasn't good enough, we were always going to struggle today but I thought we fought really well."
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