the possibility to get ( firstly) the single note rhythmical effect from Anglo-playing by using the English in a similar way. "All" you have to do is reversing the bellows likewise.All the notes are there. There is a number of English-players doing trad "Irish" music this way. BUT it is a lot more demanding doing energetic and loud multi note Morris style Anglo-playing using an English likewise.

What Alistair described in his workshop was not reversing the bellows as per the anglo. His point was that, since on the anglo one button controls two opposed reeds and their associated valves, when you change bellows direction one valve shuts and the corresponding one on the opposite side opens simultaneously, so one reed begins to sound at precisely the same moment its opposite is cut abruptly to nothing. That gives you very precise punctuation. The business of dynamics does not necessarily depend on bellows reversals.

As far as playing morris dance music on an English goes, although it clearly can be done, the kind of accompanying chording easily achieved on an anglo would be very hard to imitate convincingly.

I'll ask Alistair about the health of his thumb joints next time I see him. However, his playing has been extremely dynamic since his earliest recordings, so I don't think it's decades of practice that have enabled him to play like that.