Just like other sports stars, England’s fast bowler James Anderson is desperate to go out and play the sport. Cricket and its related activities were suspended following the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic. Anderson, England’s Test specialist, was last seen in action in January 2020 during South Africa tour. The pacer now is eager to play, but at the same time he is bit nervous regarding the risk factor due to COVID-19 virus. Lancashire Offer to Stage Test Cricket During COVID-19 Crisis As They Post Strong Earnings.

"It's just a human reaction to be nervous about this situation. We've got players in our team who have pregnant wives and the worry there is if they bring something back," Anderson told CNN Sport.

"So I think what the ECB is doing is trying to make sure we really, really tick every box that we can to make sure the safety of the players and staff is paramount and make sure everything is in the right place so if and when we do join back up as a team before we start playing, we are as safe as we can be,” the pacer added.

Anderson also talked about possibility of being not using saliva again, which happens to be an important factor in making the ball to swing. "It's a massive thing for me because to get the ball to swing, you need to be able to polish the ball and repair it when it gets scuffs on it," said Anderson. PCB to Discuss With Players & Govt Before Taking Final Call on England Tour.

About the matches likely to be played behind closed doors, Anderson said with no crowd behind them players will have to lean on each other. "We're lucky (in England) that most Test matches are sold out, certainly the first few days, we get big crowds so motivating yourself isn't an issue. You just get out there in front of a packed house and it's quite easy to get up for a game. I think we might have to lean on each other as players if there's no crowd there, no atmosphere, we hear the sound of leather on willow echoing around the ground rather than the applause,” the pacer said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2020 11:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).