England are expected to name James Anderson ahead of Matthew Hoggard for the first npower Test against New Zealand tomorrow, but in one sense the decision will leave them none the wiser about the eleventh man. Not even Anderson himself can be sure which player will turn up at Lord’s, whether it will be the speedy swing bowler or the expensive liability.

Five years on from his Test debut, Anderson is still thought of as promising rather than fulfilled. At 25, he ought to be at the peak of his game. Instead, his inconsistency, at least in the longer form, remains as frustrating as ever and the last two matches of the series in New Zealand represented a microcosm of his mercurial career.

Having taken five for 73 in the first innings of the victory in Wellington, and seven wickets in the match, he then returned combined figures of one for 153 in 24 overs a week later in Napier. “It is hard for me to understand how I can go from one to the other in the space of only a few days,” he said.

As well as talking to coaches, he has sought guidance from Steve Bull, the England team psychologist. Anderson is convinced that the problem is mental rather than technical, though there are those who believe that an action - now restored - in which his head looks down at the point of delivery is to blame.

He said: “Some days everything flows from my first over. When it does not come straight away I have to work harder to get my rhythm. I need to find a method so that I do not panic, so that I ease my way back into the spell rather than tensing up and maybe trying too hard or bowling too fast.”

Anderson has always been a more serious cricketer than his image probably suggests. He is also quiet, painfully so in his early days under Nasser Hussain. But there was a new confidence about the way he spoke at an open day for the media this week that augurs well if it means a parallel responsibility for his game.

Only when asked specifically about his meetings with Bull did he begin to clam up and even then his response could be interpreted in a positive light.

“It is important to figure out my inconsistency for myself,” he said. “I do not want to make out this is something big because I am sure I can do something about it.”

He is comfortable in his action but refuses to blame Troy Cooley, the former bowling coach, for making modifications designed to prevent injury. “Troy is probably the best bowling coach I have worked with, but I am pretty much back to where I was when I started so maybe those changes were not the best thing,” he said.

“I feel more comfortable now and I generate more pace, I am swinging the ball as much as I did and I feel my body is strong. I have watched Shaun Pollock in his pomp when he was quick and his head went down as well, so I do not think it affects the way I bowl or my consistency.”

Peter Moores confirmed yesterday that Andrew Flintoff would have been named in the squad but for the side strain suffered last Friday. The head coach also said that Flintoff, had he proved his fitness in the build-up, which began yesterday, would have been chosen in a four rather than a five-man bowling attack.

To prise that much out of Moores, who prefers to speak in generalities, represented an achievement so it may never be known whether Anderson would have been asked to give way. There is something of a chicken-and-egg situation here. Without a run of games he may struggle to impose himself, but if he bowls badly, he will not get that run.

“I had a great start to my career but then things started to go a bit pear-shaped,” Anderson said. “I got injured, missed a few games and struggled to get back. I feel I have the talent to be in the top ten in the world in both forms of the game. I have been around the side for five years now, so it is about time I started doing it.”

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