Potts glad to learn from England great Anderson

James Anderson may have retired from Test cricket but his influence within the England set-up remains strong, according to Matthew Potts. Anderson brought the curtain down on an extraordinary Test career that yielded 704 wickets after appearing in his 188th match against the West Indies at Lord’s in July.
The 42-year-old, top of the all-time charts for fast bowlers, immediately moved into a role mentoring England’s quicks and Potts is glad to be able to mine his experience. “It’s an awesome experience to have so much knowledge in the dressing room,” Potts, 25, told a press conference at Lord’s ahead of the fourth one-day international against Australia. “Being able to tap into that knowledge whenever you want, he (Anderson) gives it freely.”
Anderson gave up white-ball cricket to prolong his Test career but Potts is a multi-format England player. The Durham seamer is playing in the current five-match ODI series against the world champions, with the home side trailing 2-1, and has also been included in the squad for next month’s three-Test tour of Pakistan.
Together with several England team-mates including Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, Potts will have a short turnaround between the end of the Australia series on Sunday and flying out to Multan on Tuesday.
“That’s the beauty of being a multi-format cricketer,” said Potts, whose eight Tests have yielded 28 wickets at a shade under 30 apiece. “You’ve got to be ready for every eventuality but at the same time be able to compartmentalise for different things. I’ve got all the stuff packed but I’m focused on this white-ball series first.”
With a growing cohort of England quicks competing for places in the Test and white-ball teams, Potts would like to up his speed without compromising his accuracy. “I think one of my key assets is control, but it’s about exploring the boundaries in which I can keep control and try and find my peak speed,” he said. “As you push your average speed up, your peak speed should generally go up as well. I’ll try to keep up at 84-85 miles per hour (135-137kmh) consistently throughout the day.”

Hull out of Pakistan tour
Meanwhile, England paceman Josh Hull has been ruled out of next month’s Test tour of Pakistan with a quad injury, team management said. The 20-year-old Leicestershire left-arm quick has missed the current white-ball series against Australia due to the injury, which he suffered during his Test debut against Sri Lanka at the Oval earlier this month. An England spokesman said Hull would continue his recovery, with no replacement called up into what is now a 16-man squad for a three-Test series starting in Multan on October 7. The 6 feet, 7 inches (2 metres) tall Hull was a surprise selection for the third Test against Sri Lanka, given that he had then taken just two wickets in the second division of this season’s County Championship at the hugely expensive average of 182.50.
Nevertheless, he had respectable match figures of 3-91 against Sri Lanka, whose eight-wicket victory at the Oval meant England won a three-Test series 2-1. But the thigh problem he suffered in south London sidelined Hull from England’s subsequent T20 and one-day international series with Australia.
Hull’s focus will now switch to being fit for England’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean in late October and November, which precedes a Test series against New Zealand in December.
His absence leaves Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse vying for places in England’s pace attack in Pakistan. Ben Stokes is unlikely to bowl at the start of the series but an England and Wales Cricket Board statement issued Wednesday said he “remains on track” to captain the team in Pakistan after tearing his hamstring in The Hundred last month.

Revised England squad for three-Test tour of Pakistan:
Ben Stokes (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wkt), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes