Anderson stresses building Ashes momentum

England pace spearhead James Anderson is hoping the third Test against the West Indies is the beginning of something big heading into the Ashes.

James Anderson.

James Anderson already has one eye on the Ashes as England prepare for the third Test at Lord's (AAP)

James Anderson is hoping England can begin to build some momentum for the Ashes with victory in the third Test against West Indies.

England head to Lord's for a series decider after the Windies recorded a surprise five-wicket triumph at Headingley last week to level the series.

The hosts had coasted to victory at Edgbaston in the opening Test but failed to wrap the series up in Leeds.

"It was disappointing for us after such a performance at Edgbaston, we thought we could build on that and close out the series at Headingley," Anderson told Sky Sports News ahead of Thursday's opening day.

"As bowlers we were confident we could bowl them out but full credit to the West Indies, I thought they played fantastically well that last day.

"I thought the West Indies came back very strong - which we expected them to do - and we didn't play at our best at all, which is really frustrating for us as we are trying to build momentum."

With one eye on the Ashes series in Australia, beginning November 23, Anderson believes getting a result at Lord's is of huge importance.

"You're always trying to win Test match series," he said. "It's very important to try to build momentum and with this team going forward I think we really need to get some momentum going as it's an important winter for us.

"We've done some good things over the few months, or maybe 12 months, but not quite got that consistency going yet and that's something that we're really striving for."

Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker with 497, is closing in on his 500th Test scalp but says his focus at Lord's will be helping the team to victory.

"It's obviously nice ... the fact I've played for long enough to get this close to 500 is something that I'm very proud of," he said. "But to be honest, I do try to put it to the back of my mind.

"I've got a job to do this week. We desperately need to win this Test match to win the series so I'm going to be focused completely on doing my job for the team when we get out there."


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Source: AAP


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