Matthew Potts explains how ‘friendly’ competition is helping England replace James Anderson and Stuart Broad
Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone and Potts impressed in the second Test win over Sri Lanka at Lord’s
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Matthew Potts believes England are only “scratching the surface” of what is possible in the post James Anderson and Stuart Broad era.
Broad, willingly, and Anderson, reluctantly, retired in back-to-back home Test matches albeit nearly a year apart, as England looked to the future without a pair who had bagged a combined 1,308 wickets.
England are now more flexible with their plans and personnel and, while injuries have meant dipping into a bank of reserves, they are one win away from a first perfect Test summer at home in 20 years.
Having missed out at the start of the summer, Potts has featured in the last two Tests and is happy to be in an arsenal of fast bowlers as he insisted there is no room for jealousy in the dressing room.
“We have a strength in numbers,” Potts said. “It’s going to take a group of 15 or 16 cricketers to push this team forward to the level that we want to get to.
“We are kind of only scratching the surface here. You’ve got bowlers that can swap in, swap out, knowing that anyone that comes in is going to do a good job.
“It’s healthy competition. It’s always pushing each other to be the best that you can. And then you know that the XI that go out to do the job are the best XI for that day.
“So I don’t think there’s any kind of bitterness in the competition. I think it’s only healthy and it spurs the guys on to deliver when they’re playing.”
Potts made up three-quarters of a pace attack, along with Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone, that had fewer than 10 Test caps against Sri Lanka at Lord’s last week, bolstered by the experience of Chris Woakes.
The quartet each had moments of joy on a largely docile pitch to inspire England to a fifth win and while there is no let-up with three Tests in three weeks, Potts says he is up for the challenge.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket this year, I don’t for any second find it tough,” Potts said ahead of England’s final Test assignment of the summer, which gets under way on Friday.
“I relish any challenge there is, whether it be a physical challenge or mental, try and play as many games as you can. that’s kind of where I want to be, trying to push for every single team that I can.”
Potts, who is almost halfway through a two-year England central contract, claimed an impressive double wicket maiden at Lord’s, castling Angelo Mathews with a borderline unplayable delivery that clipped the top of off before Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva edged to slip three balls later.
They added to a list of victims including Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli in eight Tests, all at home, and Potts admitted he is looking to be involved in England’s winter tours of Pakistan and New Zealand.
A trip to India last winter with the supplementary England Lions squad led to an eye-catching 20 wickets at 16.95 apiece in three four-day matches, where he learnt not to overcomplicate his approach.
“I don’t think it’s any rocket science,” he added. “It’s just knowing when to take the speeds up, when not to and then look for a little bit of movement.
“If you get a little bit flat and a little bit floaty out there, I think you sometimes get hurt. So it’s always good to keep the ball speed up there, especially in subcontinent conditions.”
PA