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Jimmy Anderson celebrated his 32nd birthday with his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket for more than a year.
Anderson crowned his best bowling performance for some time with figures of five for 53 after he removed MS Dhoni and Mohammed Shami to wrap up India’s innings for 330 and leave England with a lead of 239.
This has been a difficult summer for Anderson. He has lacked the venom of recent years and has looked jaded at times on the field — as well as attracting controversy off it.
On Friday, he will learn whether he is to be banned from Test cricket for his alleged role in the incident with India all-rounder Ravi Jadeja during the First Investec Test at Trent Bridge. If the International Cricket Council’s judicial commissioner, Gordon Lewis, decides Anderson has transgressed seriously, he could be suspended for up to four Tests.
Memorable Test matches between England and India
Lewis will also hear an appeal from Jadeja, who was fined 50 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of a Level 1 offence by match referee David Boon last week.
Anderson’s work here suggested that the uncertainty has not affected him. He outwitted Dhoni, who failed to add to his overnight score of 50, with a lifting delivery that looped to keeper Jos Buttler, and he repeated the trick to get rid of Shami for five.
England captain Alastair Cook chose not to enforce the follow-on and at lunch, they were 80 for two, a lead of 319. Sam Robson (13) and Gary Ballance (38) were the men to fall, Ballance given out wrongly for the second time in the match. That left Cook 29 not out at the interval.
