Ashes 2019: Anderson hopeful of playing later in series

London, August 7: England seamer James Anderson hopes to play a role later in the Ashes despite admitting he will be out "for a while" with a calf injury.

The 37-year-old re-injured his calf during the first Test at Edgbaston, where Australia took a 1-0 series lead courtesy of a 251-run victory.

Anderson has been ruled out of the second Test and will need to prove his fitness in a match before returning, but the veteran is hopeful of playing a role.

"The adrenalin of the Ashes was probably a factor. There were nerves on the first day of the series and maybe I tried a little harder," he wrote in a column for The Sun.

"Perhaps my calf wasn't happy with the extra strain being placed on it, but to be honest, I don't want to give too much deep thought to what caused the problem.

"My focus now is to get better and try everything possible to play a role later in the series.

An injury update on @jimmy9#Ashes

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 6, 2019

"I certainly have no intention of giving up. If I don't play against Australia, then the winter tours to New Zealand and South Africa are the next target."

Anderson managed to bowl just four overs in the first Test as England had no answers to Steve Smith, who made centuries in each innings to lead Australia.

As for his return, Anderson – who has taken 575 Test wickets – accepted he would be sidelined "for a while".

"I felt very guilty – I think that's only natural – even though there was not a lot I could have done about it," he wrote.

"It's hard to say when I might play again but it won't be for a while. I hope to do some very gentle work at the end of this week – not running or bowling or anything like that – but really it is a case of assessing things on a daily basis.

"The England management want me to play some cricket before I return for a Test match. So I'll have to schedule that as well, which is not so easy because it is mainly Twenty20 matches at the moment."