The Ravindra Jadeja-James Anderson row was one of the highlights, because of all wrong reasons, in the India’s England tour and created a bitter atmosphere between the two teams.
Anderson, who allegedly abused and pushed Jadeja in the first Test, was given a Level 3 charge, but the pacer was cleared of all wrong doings owing to lack of evidences.
The England bowling spearhead Anderson revealed the Test series controversy put him under pressure and it was one of the most stressful periods of his playing career.
“It was probably one of the most stressful periods that I’ve been through whilst I’ve been in the England team,” Anderson said. “It was constantly there – whether it was talking to solicitors, whether it was ‘we’ve got meetings here’; whatever it was, it was a constant thing.”
“I just wanted it to go away so I could concentrate on the cricket,” he added. “But I thought that everyone dealt with it brilliantly. The ECB were great; they backed me all the way and I’m very grateful for that.”
Anderson, however, maintained that he wasn’t as fault despite been alleged by Team India to indulge in altercation with Jadeja, without any provocation.
The seamer said he knows where to draw a line on the field and despite being aggressive he has never crossed it.
“I was just having a chat off the field,” Anderson insisted. “When we’re on the field out in the middle, the umpires are there to oversee that – if they think we overstep the mark they step in and take over; if it’s serious enough they’ll report it to the match referee and it gets dealt with like that.”
“It’s something I’ve always been aware of. I feel like I need to be aggressive on the field because I’m not a big presence on the field, like Chris Tremlett or Stuart Broad; being aggressive has helped me do my job for the team.”
“But I’m very aware of the boundaries and of overstepping the mark – and if I’ve ever been close the umpires are straight on it; there are stump microphones there. I’m very aware of everything there and I don’t overstep the mark,” he concluded.
