England vice-captain Jimmy Anderson says teammates 'too quiet' as New Zealand Test series looms

Bowler wants likes of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan "chirping up a bit more" in the wake of Ashes blowout.

James Anderson has told his team-mates to start speaking up and get more involved in taking the team forward after their Ashes flop, writes Dean Wilson in Hamilton.

The return of Ben Stokes will certainly add a bit more noise and character to the side in New Zealand despite not being given the vice-captaincy back with his trial for affray set for August.

But Anderson, who will continue to fill the role of No.2 to captain Joe Root, wants to encourage more from a team where the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Dawid Malan must play big roles in its development.

“I’m delighted Joe’s asked me to do it again for these two Test matches,” said Anderson.“But it’s a group effort, a team, we need everybody’s input. We need the younger guys to start chirping up a bit more to be honest and having some more input.

“That’s what we want to do as a team – get to a point where everyone has their say. We’ve got an open and honest dressing-room, all we’re trying to do is improve this team.

“It probably is one of the quieter dressing rooms. I think the Ashes wouldn’t have helped in that respect because that’s as pressurised an environment as you can get. Hopefully we can kick on from there.”Anderson is yet to take the reins fully from Root for a match, but he had to take on duties such as ‘fending off Geoffrey Boycott’ as he puts it, after the fifth Test in Sydney when the skipper was unwell.The 35-year-old remains England’s most experienced cricketer and it is fitting that he is back in New Zealand 10 years after his career really took off when he and Stuart Broad replaced Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard in Wellington and didn’t look back.

Not only has he gone on to become England’s most successful wicket taker of all time, but he is in the richest vein of form of his career, capturing 55 wickets in 2017 at just 17.5 apiece.

And England still need plenty more from both him and Broad, currently on 399 Test wickets, if they are to succeed first in New Zealand and then against Pakistan and India this summer.

Anderson added: “I was really delighted with how things went for me and my body in Australia. To get through it without injury was great.“It’s really nice for me and Broady to be back where we started our partnership, with him on the verge of a massive milestone. We both feel really positive about things.”* ENGLAND assistant Paul Farbrace has turned down the opportunity to become Bangladesh’s new head coach.

Farbrace joined the English coaching staff four years ago as number two, first to Peter Moores and then Trevor Bayliss, and has been credited with playing a major role in their white-ball resurgence.

The 50-year-old has decided, for the time being, to remain with his homeland after being offered the chance to become the long-term successor to Chandika Hathurusingha.