The England cricket team returned to action in the longest format of the sport as they faced West Indies in the first Test match on Wednesday. It was a huge occasion as the encounter was star fast bowler James Anderson‘s final international appearance. The last time England played a Test series was against India where they were handed a massive 1-4 defeat in the five-match series. Several fans and experts believed that England’s ‘Bazball’ approach of cricket did not work for them in India and the result was an indicator of its limitations. However, former England pacer Steve Harmison believes that the national side played good cricket in India and they even gave the hosts ‘a real headache’ during the series.

“I thought they (England) played excellent cricket in India. They gave India some real headaches. But then, all of a sudden, when you get to a point that you go, ‘oh no, they’ve done it again’. How many times you see a crash of wickets? That’s the problem, where you need to read a room. You can’t have everything in an ideal world. The way these red ball players play now, it’s far better than what it was in the previous regime,” Harmison told talkSPORT cricket.

“I don’t think India killed Bazball. I think India played better cricket in their own backyard. They made smarter decisions under pressure. But I think there were definitely times during those five Test matches where England gave India a real headache. And not many teams have done that to India in India,” he added.

Meanwhile, the decision taken by England captain Ben Stokes to bowl first was greeted by huge cheers from the crowd, with spectators eager to witness the last chapter of a record-breaking Test career.

Anderson has taken 700 Test wickets, the most by any fast bowler, since making his debut against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003.

Before play started it was the 41-year-old Anderson who presented the 26-year-old Atkinson with his England cap in a match where another Surrey player — wicketkeeper Jamie Smith — was also making his Test debut.

Anderson’s daughters rang the five-minute bell in the Pavilion before their father led England onto the field of play to prolonged applause.

(With AFP inputs)