England great James Anderson will take a call on his illustrious Test career following recent talks with Test head coach Bredon McCullum, per the latest reports. Anderson, 41, is the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 700 wickets from 187 matches and the leading-most among all pacers to play this game.
Per a Guardian report, McCullum flew from New Zealand to the UK to meet Anderson in person and talk about the future, mainly concentrating on the build-up for next year’s Ashes. Speaking with James over a game of golf, McCullum is said to have conveyed his plans of looking beyond him following the upcoming English summer.
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Anderson created history during the away winter India tour earlier this year, completing 700 wickets – most by a seamer and counting. Even at this age, he bowled over 110 overs across seven innings, picking just ten wickets. Although he’s been a revelation with the new ball, both at home and away, Anderson struggled to leave an impact during the home Ashes last year, picking just five wickets at an average of over 85 across four Tests.
Meanwhile, following the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, England will host West Indies for three Tests in July, with Sri Lanka coming over next for the three-match series. England’s series against Sri Lanka starts with a Test in Old Trafford in August – Anderson’s home ground.
Anderson earlier commented that he would manage his workload for the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, due to which he hasn’t represented Lancashire in County this summer.
Moreover, England men’s managing director, Robert Key, also addressed this, saying he is looking forward to the younger crop of seamers to take English cricket forward, with the likes of Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Matt Potts, Gus Atkinson, Matt Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and John Turner.
End of a partnership
Last year’s Ashes was Stuart Broad’s final in the whites, as he announced his retirement mid-way into the final Test at The Oval. Anderson and Broad both had picked 851 Test wickets between them. Although this number is impressive considering every era, it’s still third behind McGrath and Warne (1001) and Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas (895).
With Broad already retired and Anderson set to announce his retirement anytime ahead of the English summer, perhaps the greatest modern-day partnership will end.
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