Defeat against New Zealand was a "real wake-up call" - Anderson

England fast bowler James Anderson said the 1-0 defeat in the two-Test series against New Zealand was a perfect "wake-up call" for him and his team. The hosts were blown away by the Black Caps in the second Test at Edgbaston and suffered a first home series defeat in seven years.

"I'm trying to think of some positives to take out of the series, but there's really not that many. There were a couple of notable performances, but we were a bit off," said Anderson, speaking on the Tailenders podcast.

"It was a real wake-up call for us as a team. We're not quite where we think we are. We just weren't good enough and New Zealand were great."

The 38-year-old fast bowler became England's most-capped Test player at Edgbaston after going past Sir Alastair Cook's record of 161 Tests. In the series against New Zealand, Anderson claimed only three wickets at an average of 68.66.

"For me, personally I didn't have enough cricket going in. I bowled 24 overs for Lancashire before it, which again is not an excuse - it's just not ideal preparation. I felt rusty and then felt great on the last day, when they needed 37 to win! Now I've got three weeks off."

Anderson also spoke about Ollie Robinson who was suspended (pending an investigation) after the revelation of his historical racist and sexist tweets.

"He spoke to the group and was very remorseful, embarrassed and regretted what he'd done. We're doing everything we can to make sure we get educated. We've been doing workshops with the Professional Cricketers' Association, trying to educate people as we move forward as a team," said Anderson.

"We've realised as international sportsmen we've got a platform and we should be using it in the right way. We'll keep learning and trying to get better as people, and that's all we can do."