Time is right to go but James Anderson will hate the ‘summer of Jimmy’
James Anderson would hate all the faff of a summer of farewells and it would not help England build towards the next Ashes series either for the attack to again use him as a crutch.
It is the right time for Anderson to retire at 41 (he will be 42 in July) and with 700 Test wickets, but the next question is whether this will be a long goodbye or a quick nod of the head then exit stage left?
Anderson is an introvert who recoils from being the centre of attention. He marked that 700th Test wicket in Dharamsala with a relieved wave to the crowd and no interviews. When Richard Thompson, the England and Wales Cricket board chairman, presented him with a painting to commemorate the moment the following day, Anderson – pint pot in hand – wore a look as if he had just been asked to bowl 10 overs in 45C heat with an old ball on a flat pitch in Rajkot.
So the presumption he will bow out at Old Trafford is probably misplaced and poses an awkward cricketing issue too. Manchester hosts the fourth Test of the summer, the first of the series of three against Sri Lanka. Picking that as Anderson’s last game would mean dragging him around for the West Indies series that precedes it and selecting him ahead of younger bowlers earmarked for the future. Holding him back for Old Trafford would look like a sentimental pick.
While telling Telegraph Sport in April that he wanted to unearth pace bowlers for Ben Stokes, Rob Key also insisted England need “skill as well” and Anderson could help “us get there quicker by being around”, which suggests he has a role this summer.
But what better way to go than at Lord’s, the venue for the first Test of the summer against the West Indies in July on a ground where he played his first Test 21 years ago, adding some neat symmetry. Both sides could then move on; England look to Australia and use the remaining five Tests to pick new players and try different combinations with the new ball, and Anderson to fully commit to his burgeoning media career.
His skill at utilising the Lord’s slope from both ends has brought him 119 wickets, only Muttiah Muralitharan has taken more at a single ground, and while his bowling average is slightly better at Old Trafford, he has never taken a five-wicket haul there. His great England spells have happened elsewhere.
It requires a ruthless streak to pack Anderson off after one game. England are loyal and Stokes has only respect for Anderson. Even this decision was made with some reluctance. The allure of going out in front of his home crowd will understandably be hard for Anderson to resist and for the ECB too, who will want to mark the occasion.
A sun-dappled Oval in September is the usual English endpoint but Anderson has never enjoyed much success there. “Be where your feet are,” is one of Brendon McCullum’s phrases, in other words win the game in front of you, but his legacy as coach will be determined by the next Ashes result and he has only 18 Tests left to play with before that series. No, the farewell either has to be Manchester or Lord’s.
A retirement knighthood is inevitable and totally justified given Alastair Cook received one for retiring as England’s highest ever Test run scorer. The title sits easily on Cook’s shoulders, Anderson will feel a little less comfortable with it.
It was tough watching Anderson toil last summer against Australia. He was never really fully fit after suffering a leg injury for Lancashire before the series started. Four wickets and an average of 85 meant he scraped a central contract and many felt he should have gone with Stuart Broad, arm in arm, bowing out as a partnership. It was to his huge credit that he could summon the spirit one more time and bowl himself to 700 wickets in India.
It was only when India were setting up the declaration in the third Test that Anderson was hammered around, and his series numbers – ten wickets at 33 – were respectable on such good batting pitches.
But just a week or so later Key said England needed “more cutting edge, more pace”. The old pro in Anderson would have got the message and feared the worst when he learned McCullum was flying in to speak to him. It will hurt. He was in tears when he was dropped for the West Indies tour in 2022, and does not say for show that he has one more Ashes tour in him.
He should be there but in a different capacity. He was the de facto pace bowling coach in India and his knowledge must not be confined to the commentary box. Anderson enjoys coaching and loves the dressing room craic. His children are teenagers, hitting the road is easier as his family grow up and he would be invaluable in an advisory role in Australia, empathising with bowlers after a bad day and imbuing the next generation with the tenacity needed in an Ashes.
As franchise cricket continues its march, we will not see his like again. No other seamer will take more than 1,000 first-class wickets, let alone 700 in Tests, be bothered to hone the sleight of hand skills of swing and seam or relish long days on flat Test pitches. He will deserve every word of praise and accolade. But first, the job for England is to ensure Anderson’s farewell is pitched perfectly, just like one of his away swingers.
