James Anderson slams Australian skipper over comments on Joe Root & England players

England pacer James Anderson has slammed Australian skipper Tim Paine over his latest comments on Joe Root and other English players. Paine had said that the 2021-22 Ashes series will go ahead whether Joe Root comes to Australia or not. Paine had also added that "no is forcing" England players to come down to Australia for the Ashes series. Anderson has now hit back at Paine saying, "it is dangerous" to make comments like that when there are serious concerns regarding mental health, bubble fatigue, and quarantine restrictions. 

"No one is forcing any England player to come. That‘s the beauty of the world we live in. You have a choice. If you don’t want to come, don’t come", Paine had said while speaking to SEN Hobart radio station.

Anderson, while speaking to the Daily Telegraph, urged Paine to focus on the job at hand instead of making provocative comments off the field. Anderson further added that the comments have been designed to "distract" the English team ahead of the highly-anticipated series. Anderson also asked Paine to keep the ongoing war of words between the two sides "respectable". 

"It is dangerous to start talking like that, especially when we already have one player missing because he is looking after his mental health. I get it that this is an Ashes series and we are going to have this bit of pantomime stuff away from the cricket, but let’s keep it respectable," Anderson was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph. 

The five-match Test series is scheduled to begin from December 8 and continue till January 18. The first Australia vs England Test match will be contested at the 'Gabba' Brisbane from 8-12 December whereas, the second Test match at the Adelaide Oval from December 16-20 will be a Day-Night affair. The iconic Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) respectively, with the final Test scheduled for Perth’s Optus Stadium (January 14-18).

Ashes 2021: England's Ashes Squad

Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Image: AP