James Anderson’s refusal to accept Bumrah’s apology fired India up
England fast bowler James Anderson’s refusal to accept an apology from Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah fired up the visitors as they went on to clinch a memorable victory in the second Test at Lord’s, revealed off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and bowling coach R Sridhar.
Sridhar discussed with Ashwin on the latter’s Youtube channel how Anderson was really annoyed by the barrage of bouncers that Bumrah bowled at him in full steam on Day 3 of the Test match. And even when the Indian speedster tried to make him understand that there was no bad intention behind his bowling, Anderson disapproved Bumrah’s words.
“Hey mate! Why are you bowling so fast? Am I doing the same to you? All this while you were bowling in the 80mphs and suddenly on seeing me why are you bowling in the 90mphs?” Anderson is learnt to have told Bumrah, according to Sridhar.
“That kind of statement coming from Jimmy Anderson was a surprise to me,” said Ashwin, reacting to what the England paceman had to tell his Indian counterpart.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah Takes Sly Dig At 39-Year Old Anderson’s Experience; Mocks Him For Crying To Bowl Slow
James Anderson and Jasprit Bumrah were involved in a verbal spat during the Lord’s Test.
How even Jasprit Bumrah’s consoling words didn’t calm James Anderson down
Two days later, when Bumrah himself walked out to bat in the Indian second-innings, he was given a proper mouthful by the close-in England fieldsmen and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. But Sridhar had a detailed backstory to offer to those heated exchanges, as he reiterated that despite Bumrah trying to mend things with Anderson, the bowler had “brushed him aside”.
WATCH: James Anderson’s classic reply to Mitchell Johnson’s sledge
“So after the (England’s first) innings, the boys were walking back to the dressing room. Then, Bumrah walked past Jimmy and just patted at him, so as to tell him that it wasn’t intentional. We all know Bumrah, he is such a nice guy. So he had gone to talk to him and end the matter, but Jimmy brushed him aside,” Sridhar said in a video shared over Ashwin’s channel.
“Brushing him aside, he (Anderson) told him (Bumrah), ‘You bowl only 85MPH to the other batters, you are bowling 90 MPH to me. This is cheating, I won’t accept’.”
Sridhar reaffirmed that the whole James Anderson-Jasprit Bumrah verbal spat really “sparked a fire in everyone” within the Indian dressing and got them even more determined to come out triumphant.
That spirit was evident in the way Bumrah batted and bowled on the final day, scoring an important 34 to help India post a target of 272 and taking three wickets for just 33 runs to confirm his team’s victory by a margin of 151 runs.