James Anderson called time on his international career after the first Test match against the West Indies. He finished his career with 704 wickets, with his last four wickets coming in his farewell Test match.
Anderson finished his career as the most decorated Test bowler and the third-highest wicket-taker in history with 704 scalps. Only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warner are above him on this tally.
Joe Root, the former England captain, has watched Anderson’s career unfold before his very eyes and has played alongside him throughout his career. Even after his retirement, the two best friends will be part of the England squad as Anderson will join the team as a mentor ahead of the upcoming Test match at Trent Bridge.
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Strange case: Joe Root talks about James Anderson’s retirement
“For me, the only thing I’ve ever known in England is playing alongside Jimmy and that’s been for 12 years. It’s a bit strange to see Stuart [Broad] Go back last year and 1720918137 “Jimmy, I’m going to miss playing alongside him terribly, but the fact that he’s with us over the summer will be great for the young players coming through and for us to continue to draw on that experience and everything he has to offer in the dressing room. I’m really pleased that he’s been able to get the send-off he deserves, but also, in a way, it’s a bit sad to see him go,” Root said.
He was also questioned about his retirement at the post-match press conference but he denied that he would retire from cricket early.
“Ah, here we go,” he said dismissively when asked if he had thought about his own farewell. “Not at the moment. I’d like to think I’ll be playing for quite a while. And when that day comes, I’m sure I’ll come up with something. You have to earn the right to have that kind of fairy-tale ending, like Jimmy, Stuart, Cookie.” [at the Oval in 2018] “My aim is to score as many runs as I can for this team and help us win as many games as we can,” Root said.
“Until that focus and until that momentum changes, then I’ll continue to focus solely on that and we’ll be worrying about that, I hope, for a long time to come,” he added.
His final statement was about Gus Atkinson and his performance in his first Test match. He took 12 wickets to start his Test career and the most memorable one is not possible. He moved the ball both ways and caused all sorts of problems for the Windies batsmen. Root sees Atkinson as a huge asset going into the next Ashes series in 2025.
“When teams go out there, what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus, who can pitch in the late 80s and early 90s.” [mph] “And he keeps moving the ball and making things happen at a high pace. It was great to see him come in and do that on such a slow pitch here,” Root said of the young player.
Also read: Ben Stokes announces James Anderson’s participation in Ashes 2025 just after the pacer’s farewell Test
