Boycott: Anderson and Broad too good for Lankans

Cricket365
June 8, 2016

Geoff Boycott praised Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, saying that any team would have struggled against players of their quality in those conditions.

The pair picked up 15 Sri Lankan wickets in the record-breaking match, decimating an inexperienced batting lineup twice to record the 13th fastest Test victory in history.

Boycott, a veteran of 108 Test matches, feels that despite Sri Lanka's shortcomings, it was a case of two players at the top of their game using friendly conditions that proved the deciding factor.

"Anderson and Broad had the conditions and Sri Lanka are inexperienced," he was quoted as saying by the BBC. "I don't care who played, they would have struggled in those conditions against two fine bowlers."

Aside from taking a 1 – 0 lead in the series, England will feel heartened by Anderson's form in particular.

The 33-year old underperformed in the recent tour of South Africa, taking only seven wickets in a series where his new-ball partner, Stuart Broad, was the main destroyer for the visitors.

"I wasn't myself in South Africa," he told Test Match Special. "It was nice to have a couple of months after that and I worked on some things with Lancashire. I'm delighted to carry that on here," he said, referring to the first-class form which saw him pick up 12 wickets in three matches.

Boycott feels that it was case of England's all-time top wicket tacker getting enough match-time before the series that lifted his form.

"I never felt there was a problem with Anderson so long as he got match bowling," he said.

"He's bowled 100 overs in the Championship for Lancashire this season – I always feel the older you get, the more overs you need, not less.

"He looks in great shape and there's still miles in his legs," the Yorkshireman added.