England’s legendary cricketer James Anderson is all set to play his 188th Test match, which will also be his last match in the longest format of the game. The Test match will start this week at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground against West Indies.
Anderson, hailed as one of the greatest bowlers to have played the game, will turn 42 this month. He believes that despite his age, he is still bowling as best as he has throughout his career.
James Anderson On His Decision To Retire At 41
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On Monday, speaking to the reporters, James Anderson opened up about how he has made peace with the fact that he is about to leave the game. He said:
“I feel like I’m still bowling as well as I ever have. But, I knew it had to end at some point. Whether it’s now or in a year or two. The fact it’s now is something I’ve got to deal with and accept. The last couple of months I’ve made peace with that. I can completely understand the decision and the way the team and management want to go.”
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James Anderson has picked up 700 wickets in 187 Tests for England. Anderson is only the third bowler and the only fast bowler in history to have crossed that milestone after the legends Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800). He crossed this milestone in the fifth Test match in Dharamsala back in March.
Further, Anderson was asked whether he was hanging his boots too soon as he recently picked a 7-wicket haul for Lancashire last week. Responding to this, James Anderson said:
“It’s difficult to say. I’ve not really got a choice.” He added: “It was important for me that I try and put in some good performances to finish with. I loved being out on the field with Lancashire last week. I’ve always loved playing for Lancashire. I’ve not played a huge amount for them over the last 20 years because of England duties.”
For the unversed, it was back in May, when James Anderson announced his decision to retire after the Test match against West Indies.
Furthermore, James Anderson revealed that he wasn’t thinking about retiring from Tests anytime soon before he was invited to a meeting with the “three big dogs”, referring to England men’s managing director, Rob Key, Test captain Ben Stokes and coach McCullum. He revealed:
“I hadn’t really thought about it just because as I said I felt as fit as I ever have been in India,” Anderson said. “I thought that playing this summer would be achievable. Obviously as a senior bowler you don’t play every Test anyway, you get rested and stuff like that. I thought that was achievable and then think about stuff after that. That’s the way I’ve always approached it,”
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