London: England fast bowler, James Anderson, differs on the views of his teammates Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, both of whom played in the Indian Premier League and had said that it would have been a huge advantage for the England bowlers if they had played in the IPL, saying that there was no opportunity for them to go to the IPL.

England coach Andy Flower had recently expressed fears that the England team may just be a little “undercooked”, going into the T20 World Cup, but the speedster begged to differ on the issue. “I don’t see it that way,” said the Lancashire quickie. “We’ve had guys out in the IPL (Indian Premier League), we had a recent tour of Dubai and we’ve got a couple of warm-up games out there to settle in.”

Star England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who joins up with the squad on Tuesday after playing in the Indian Premier League, was critical of his national side’s bowlers who did not play in the IPL. Batsmen Ravi Bopara, Michael Lumb, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan and Pietersen himself, all played in the T20 league recently but none of the England’s bowlers was involved.

And despite being the inventors of Twenty20, many observers believe England have been left behind as the game expands, particularly in India. But Anderson insisted the bowlers needed rest after a tiring tour of Bangladesh and that England’s inexperience in the shortest form of the game was not an insurmountable obstacle.

“I wouldn’t say we have been left behind in Twenty20 cricket but we don’t play as much as everyone else and it makes a bit harder. We have got to really click when we come together and play well from the start. The guys are getting experience from the likes of the IPL, and we are playing more domestic Twenty20 cricket this summer, so we are slowly but surely creeping back on the other countries,” Anderson said.

“Not going to the IPL hasn’t hindered our preparation. If you look at our bowlers we’ve got two guys in Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann who have played all winter and needed a break and I needed a rest for my knee. There wasnt an opportunity to go to the IPL but I am sure in future i may, to gain some more experience. For the moment, it is not an option. I would like to play in the IPL because it is exciting and with the amount of Twenty20 we are playing at international level, the more experience we get the better,” he added.

England have never won a global one-day tournament, although they have made it to three World Cup finals, but Anderson is confident that England can correct that record in the World Twenty20 that starts on Friday.

“Because it is a shorter form of the game it doesn’t necessarily mean that the best teams don’t come out on top – they generally do,” he said. “We have got to play very well this tournament – it is not just luck that is going to get us through – we know we have got to play well to beat the best teams out there and we think we can do that.”

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