Anderson returns to England’s bowling attack

There was consensus outside the England ranks, and no contradiction from within either, that the tallest attack in Test history struggled in Anderson’s injury-enforced absence during the stalemate at HQ.

Sri Lanka appear to have spent much of the interim trying, successfully in the end, to persuade Kumar Sangakkara to return to the captaincy in place of the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan.

England, meanwhile, have been preparing confidently in the knowledge that Anderson will be back in harness.

So it was yesterday as he demonstrated his apparent well-being after the side strain that ruled him out of Lord’s, gearing up in the nets alongside pace colleagues Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn.

Watching from the sidelines while his team-mates failed for so long to find their lines last week was at least as painful, it seems, as the injury which prevented him helping them.

But the general of England’s pace attack will be back as the hosts try to close out a 2-0 series victory and retain a theoretical chance of ending the summer ranked the world’s No 1 Test team.

“It’s always frustrating when you’re injured,” he said. “But the guys that have found it most frustrating are the three guys out in the middle.”

Should the radar falter again in Southampton, the good news for Broad and Tremlett – Finn is likely to make way – is that the Lancastrian’s wise counsel will be immediately to hand.

Anderson himself likes his billing as attack leader.

He said: “Having that extra responsibility means I’ve got to set the tone when I take the first over. I’ve got to lead from the front and set an example for other people to follow.

“That added responsibility and pressure has helped me become more consistent.”

Sri Lanka will have to get by without Dilshan – who broke his thumb at Lord’s – meaning Sangakkara, who resigned the captaincy after this year’s World Cup, is a reluctant stand-in.

Nottinghamshire have been fined £600 by the England and Wales Cricket Board for fielding Australian batsman David Hussey in a Friends Life t20 match without registering him.

The ECB’s cricket discipline commission determined that Nottinghamshire had gained clearance from Cricket Australia, with an “administrative oversight” responsible for Hussey being unregistered at the time of the match against Derbyshire.

Hussey scored 60 in Nottinghamshire’s victory.