Cook all praise for Anderson

England captain Alastair Cook praised the “outstanding” James Anderson after the fast-medium bowler guided the hosts to a nerve-wracking 14-run win over Australia in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Anderson bowled 13 straight overs before lunch as he finished with an innings return of five wickets for 73 runs and a match haul of ten for 158, only the second time in his 83-Test career he’s taken ten or more wickets in a match.

A clash beset by umpiring rows and controversy over the Decision Review System ended shortly after lunch on the fifth and final day when third umpire Marais Erasmus overturned umpire Aleem Dar’s original not out decision to have Brad Haddin (71) caught behind off Anderson.

“I always said I would be the only England captain not to go bald in the job but days like today won’t help that,” joked Cook at the presentation ceremony after Australia, 80 runs adrift of victory at 231 for nine, made England and a capacity crowd sweat in the Nottingham sunshine thanks to a last-wicket stand of 65 between Haddin and James Pattinson (25 not out).

“Australia fought incredibly hard and a lot of credit to them for the way those guys batted today, but we just hung in there incredibly well,” Cook said.

“Jimmy was outstanding. He always wants one more over -- I think 13 was probably quite a lot in that first hour!” Asked if England were over-reliant on Anderson, Cook replied: “No, not at all. He’s a world-class bowler and you sometimes use him in these situations when you know there’s a timeframe.”

Cook also highlighted Ian Bell’s second innings 109, which helped give England just enough runs to defend, as a key contribution to the match. “It was a real innings of character, determination and skill,” he said.

Anderson’s match figures were his best in Test cricket since he took 11 for 71 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 2010. “I had the nerves going a little bit but I love bowling here, it’s been good to me over the years and I’m happy that I could pick up some more wickets,” Anderson said.

Anderson, one of only four England bowlers to have taken 300 or more Test wickets, admitted that maintaining a workload similar to Sunday’s stint across a five-match Ashes series would be tough.