Fighting talk! Anderson adamant 'nobody in the world' can handle England at their best

James Anderson believes "nobody in the world" can cope with England at their best as they bid to regain the Ashes from arch-rivals Australia.

The 40-year-old England great is set to be involved in his ninth series against Australia, although a minor groin strain could rule him out of a one-off encounter with Ireland at Lord's that precedes the Ashes opener in Birmingham starting on June 16.

Anderson, the most successful fast bowler in Test history with 685 wickets, is a four-time Ashes winner, having helped England take the urn on home soil in 2009, 2013 and 2015 as well as starring in their 2010/11 triumph in Australia.

Longstanding new-ball partner Stuart Broad recently said England's woeful 4-0 series loss 'Down Under' in 2021/22 was "void" due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.

Anderson, however, jokingly played down that assessment but, on a more serious point, said an England side that have won 10 out of their 12 Tests since captain Ben Stokes and red-ball coach Brendon McCullum joined forces last year were now a very different outfit.

"I get his point with the Covid stuff but, for me, I've voided the last three away series," said Anderson. "I've lost four out of five, I think. That's his coping strategy."

He added: "I'm just excited about the way we've been playing. It's about entertaining people and trying to enjoy ourselves while we do it.

"If you look at our team, if we play to the best of our ability with that mindset, I don't think anyone can cope with us. If we do what we've been doing and play as well as we possibly can, I think nobody in the world can cope with it."

England's aggressive approach has been in marked contrast to the cautious style that characterised the end of Joe Root's tenure as