Former England opening batter Michael Atherton was not a bit surprised to hear that James Anderson announced his retirement after the first Test of this summer. The former skipper opines that England cannot afford to let a 43-year-old enter as new baller in the Ashes.
James Anderson who is already 41 years old will be retiring after the opening Test match of this summer opposing West Indies. After this match, the Lancashire seamer would have played a whopping 188 test matches and might have a chance to exceed Shane Warne as the highest wicket-taker.
James Anderson’s retirement not that much of a surprise- Michael Atherton
Atherton spoke to Sky Sports mentioning that the intent from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum that they are looking to future matches.
“The Ashes are two winters away. There’s absolutely no chance of a 43-year-old opening the bowling for England in the Ashes. I know that McCullum and Ben Stokes have always talked about living for the moment, living for now, but they also talk about planning for the future,” said Michael Atherton.
“Everything we’ve heard coming out of the England camp at the start of the year has been about pace, strike-rates, cutting edge in preparation for the Ashes and all the young bowlers that England have contracted have been of that type, so it’s not that much of a surprise,” he stated.
James Anderson reached the scale of the 700th wicket mark in the 5th Test series against India on Dharamsala. James Anderson mentioned that he would need only 9 more scales in his final test series to surpass the great Shane Warne.
Not particularly a big one for sentiment in terms of selection- Michael Atherton
Mentioning James Anderson’s retirement before his last Test match Atherton suggested that he deserves one last match in his life, given how consistent he was since his debut in 2003. He further added:
“I’m not particularly a big one for sentiment in terms of selection, but looking at what we’ve seen over the last two years, his average and strike-rate is pretty much where it’s been throughout his career. Although the numbers weren’t great in India, just in terms of the performance, it would be hard to argue that he’s still not amongst the best swing and seam bowlers that England have,”