Marsh Mocks England Bowlers

James Anderson's emergence as England's new cricketing hero is, in part, a myth sustained by substandard English pitches, according to an Australian coach who has closely monitored his progress.

Zimbabwe's coach Geoff Marsh, a former Australian Test batsman, might have made no worthwhile pronouncements all summer on how much longer his adopted country can survive the social and economic collapse presided over by Robert Mugabe. But give him Australia's favourite topic - why English cricket is irretrievably bad - and the taciturn Marsh is tempted into a stock indictment of Anderson's supposedly soft upbringing.

Marsh's insistence that England has gained a "false impression" of the ability of Anderson, and other young quickies because of bowler-friendly pitches, will place extra attention on an unpredictable Rose Bowl surface today when Hampshire stage their inaugural one-day international between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Marsh followed Zimbabwe's practice session yesterday by saying: "All of the wickets we have played on this summer have given too much assistance to the fast bowlers. Playing on pitches offering generous seam and bounce can give a false impression of a bowler's ability. Fast bowlers like Anderson, Harmison and Hoggard all need to learn subtle variations and develop different deliveries to take wickets when the ball doesn't swing or seam."

To be fair to Marsh, Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain have long pressed for sound international surfaces and the England and Wales Cricket Board has not always delivered.

It is understandable when a surface is responsive in May, as was the case at Lord's and Chester-le-Street when Zimbabwe were twice beaten by an innings in a two-Test series, but after the hottest June for years the standard of pitches in the NatWest Series has been disappointing.

The Rose Bowl is an impressive achievement. The facility is the latest example of how English county cricket, deemed to be in decline by many, is refusing to accept that its death is inevitable. There have been frustrations - traffic jams are a regular feature on big match days - but more pertinently, considering Marsh's warning, the pitches have not always matched the quality of the surroundings.