James Anderson admits England’s bowlers were ‘rusty’ in opening Ashes tour match

James Anderson admits that England’s bowlers were "rusty" in the opening game of their Ashes tour at the WACA.

Anderson was in good form as he took 4-27 in the drawn two-day game against a WACA XI in Perth but he and his fellow bowlers struggled early on as they took just one wicket before lunch.

England now move on to Adelaide and then Townsville for a couple of four-day games, with the opening Test against Australia getting underway at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23.

"I think you could probably see from the first session we were rusty … that was pretty obvious," said Anderson.

"We didn’t get it right at all. [But] we’ve got two first-class games coming up that we want to be fit for, and get those cobwebs out."

However, despite a slow start, England began to find their rhythm in the last two sessions and Anderson is predicting a closely-fought series once the Tests come around.

"It looks, on paper, very even at the moment. It all depends on which team adjusts to the situation the best, with the pressure from that first Test match," he told Sky Sports.

"We just need to concentrate on what we do well. We know what our strengths are and what we are going to do over the next few weeks and make sure we prepare well so, when we go to Brisbane, we are ready to go.

"It’s only a week since we got off the plane and a few guys are still adjusting to sleep patterns and getting over jetlag.

"We are doing our best with that and we have thrown ourselves into the practice game here. It’s been a really useful game for us these last two days.

"Batsmen have scored runs, bowlers have got wickets and overs into their legs and the fielders are spending 90 overs in the field as well, so it’s really useful."

(c) Sky News 2017: James Anderson admits England’s bowlers were ‘rusty’ in opening Ashes tour match