James Anderson backs England's stamina

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Bowler insisted England could wriggle through the escape hole that India captain Rahul Dravid had opened up for them by securing a face-saving draw at the Oval. More... James Anderson backs England's stamina By Paul Bolton Last Updated: 2:09am BST 13/08/2007 Have your say Read comments James Anderson insisted England could wriggle through the escape hole that India captain Rahul Dravid had opened up for them by securing a face-saving draw at the Oval today. Video: The Analyst on Day 4 | India content to play safe in Test of nerve Scoreboard: England v India, third Test In pics: England make solid start Dravid appeared to put winning a series in England for the first time in 21 years ahead of winning the Test when he declined to enforce the follow-on even though India had a first-innings lead of 319. Dravid eventually set England a target of more than 500, which no side has successfully chased to win a Test, meaning, more realistically, they will have to bat all day to salvage the draw. "We were pleased to end the day with all our wickets in hand because that was a tricky 20 overs for us and we were happy to get through it," Anderson said. "We are looking to bat as long as we possibly can. The first call is to save the game and keep wickets in hand and look where we are later in the game. "It's going to be a tough day for the batsmen. It will be really hard for them and they might need a bit of luck. But if the boys battle well, there is no reason why we should not bat all day." Anderson's two early wickets, including Sachin Tendulkar in what may be his final Test appearance in England, forced India to proceed cautiously before Dravid declared after four hours of torpid batting. But Anderson declined to criticise India's tactics when he was asked if Dravid had made a mistake. " If they are looking to win the series and bat us out of the game, then they have made the right decision," he said. "We will find out tomorrow whether they have made the right decision in terms of winning the game." Chandu Borde, India's manager, said the Oval's reputation for producing high-scoring Tests weighed heavily in Dravid's calculations. In 1979, India were set 438 to win on the ground and came within nine runs of victory, closing on 429 for eight thanks to a double century from Sunil Gavaskar. "We took into consideration the wicket," Borde said. "We know the history of the wicket and that we almost chased 400 here. The pitch is still playing beautifully and it's turning or helping the spinners as much as we expected. "Our bowlers were also tired and we wanted to bring them back fresh against the English batsmen." Anil Kumble, the India leg-spinner, has turned down an approach from Yorkshire to replace Pakistan batsman Younus Khan as an overseas player for the final month of the season. Kumble has opted to rest ahead of winter series against Pakistan and Australia.