England Test great James Anderson, on Wednesday, dropped a bombshell around his retirement from Test cricket, hinting that he was forced into taking the call after head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes said ‘it’s time for them to move on.’ Anderson played his final Test on July 10, in the opening Test match against the West Indies at Lord’s.
Speaking to The Independent, Anderson, 42, revealed that he was far from drawing curtains on his Test career, and that he could have gone for another two years.
“I’m still a bit mixed on it. It’s one of those things that was out of my hands. They made the decision to move away from having me in the team. That was pretty gutting at the time. I’d been preparing before my last Test match for the next six, 12, 18 months of Test cricket; I wasn’t anywhere near retirement in my head. I felt I still had that want and hunger to play, to do the hard yards, the training, the skill work,” he said.
The veteran fast bowler, who picked 700 Test wickets in 187 appearances, was told in May last year by ECB managing director Rob Key, McCullum and Stokes that he is no longer in the scheme of things in Test cricket. Anderson announced his retirement the same week, before playing his final game the following month. However, he was rather happy at the moment, knowing that he was still having an impact on the England team after being appointed as the bowling mentor for the remainder of the series.
“If I’d just left the team after that West Indies Test match, it would have been more difficult for me to make sense of everything and deal with the fact that was the end. To stay around the team and still be in the dressing room, still trying to have an impact on Test matches, I think that was good for me. The reaction was above and beyond anything I’d ever expected. That last day against the West Indies: I think it was just an hour or so on that last morning but the ground was full. It was amazing to see a sea of people there.” he added.
Anderson remains an active cricketer, after he was roped in by the English County team Lancashire for the ongoing season, but he yearns to return to the England team, albeit knowing that it is far from reality.
“I think the door is probably closed, to be honest. If I got the phone call, I would seriously think about it but I just do not think that is going to happen. I don’t think I could be further away from that. I think there would have to be a serious number of injuries for me to be considered.” concluded Anderson.
