James Anderson: 'Proud' England seamer signs off after record-breaking 21 years at the top

12 July 2024, 12:16 | Updated: 13 July 2024, 07:31

After 188 Test matches, 704 wickets and 21 years, James Anderson’s England career is over. Those statistics alone make it incredible to think there was a point in the early days where he had doubts over whether he even had a future at international level.

Had it not been for the intervention of his family, who joined him at Lord's for his emotional final Test as England stormed to an innings and 114 runs win over the West Indies inside three days, the seamer may have been lost to the team after missing the entire 2006 summer due to injury.

There have been other moments too when it looked like the curtain might be coming down - being left out of the squad along with Stuart Broad for the 2022 tour of the West Indies and last year's epic drawn Ashes series among them.

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But throughout it all, his competitive spirit and unwavering ambition to keep getting better, which has taken him through to still being near the top of his game at the age of 41 and write his name in history as the greatest fast bowler England has ever seen, helped overcome those trials and tribulations.

"The start of 2006 I got a stress fracture after a one-day series in India, and I was sat at home in a corset for about six weeks and I thought, 'I'm not that good anyway, is it worth going through this?'," Anderson told Sky Sports.

"I missed six months of cricket, and it was my family who talked me into keeping going and putting in those hard yards and rehab to get back at it.

"The Ashes last year when Broady retired, I got five wickets in the series and thought, 'Am I done here?' but you've got to keep improving.

"There have been a few times throughout my career, but the love of the sport and the love of my skill is what has kept me going."

Although his retirement from Test cricket might not have been entirely on his own terms, Anderson got to close the book where it first started in 2003, at the Home of Cricket. He took a wicket in the West Indies' first innings, three more in their second, and finished with match figures of 4-58 - although he missed out on a fairytale ending when he dropped a caught and bowled chance which would have been the final wicket of the game.

It means he finishes his Test bowling career third on the all-time list just four wickets behind the late, great Shane Warne (708) and exactly 100 ahead of the next-nearest fast bowler, his old mate Broad, who retired last summer.

The right-arm seamer's mark is unlikely to be surpassed by any other fast bowler and is a testament to how Anderson has constantly redefined and defied expectations about what seamers are capable of throughout his career. Yet his primary thought has always been about never resting on his laurels.

"I've never really felt great at any stage," Anderson said. "I know it sounds strange, but I've always tried to think, 'How am I going to get better for the next series?'.

"Thinking like that has helped me play for such a long time, the thought that I need to get better and keep improving to stay at this level.

"Fast bowling is hard work, but I think you've got to have a bit of a sadistic side to be a fast bowler because it does hurt but I think I've never really shirked away from my responsibilities, I enjoy them.

"Walking off the field after bowling 25 overs in a day and feeling sore, feet hurting, legs hurting, that's just the nature of it but as I said, I probably won't miss getting out of bed and not being able to sit on the toilet first thing in the morning."

What Anderson will miss are the duels with the batter, trying to figure out how to get the better of the player standing at the other end, and the feeling of being in the changing room with his team-mates after a hard-earned victory.

Of those, the latter means more to him than any of the records he has set during his career, and he got to savour that feeling one last time after helping England go 1-0 up against the West Indies in this three-match series.

"I knew it was going to be my last time out there, so I just wanted to enjoy every minute, tried to soak up the atmosphere, and enjoying doing something I've loved doing for 20-odd years - running in, trying to take wickets and have fun with the skills I've got," Anderson said.

"I'm just really proud. Playing for 21 years is an incredible effort, especially for a fast bowler, so I'm just happy I've made it this far and lucky enough to stay injury free pretty much throughout my career.

"I think winning series and Test matches has been the only thing I've been interested in since I came into this side."

Anderson may no longer be contributing on the field for England and has yet to decide whether he will feature again in county cricket for Lancashire but will still be a presence around the national team squad as a mentor to the next generation of seamers.

The likes of Gus Atkinson, named player of the match in the win over the West Indies after returning figures of 12-106 on Test debut across both of the tourists' innings on debut, will undoubtedly benefit from his accumulated wisdom.

Anderson, however, is determined to be there for when they need him rather than try to force himself on anyone, extending the approach head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes have adopted since taking charge of the Test team.

"It will be different because you're not contributing in the manner you're used to," Anderson said of his new role.

"I feel like myself and Stuart, at the back end of our careers, our job in that team was to pass on knowledge, make young guys coming into the group feel comfortable, confident going out there, and be able to perform at your best. I feel like that's what you need from a bowling coach at this level.

"We've had five debutants take a five-for since Baz and Stokesy took over, and that says a lot about the environment we've got.

"My job is just to be there and be a shoulder if they need me."

Watch day one of the second Test between England and West Indies, from Trent Bridge in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday (first ball to be bowled at 11am).

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