Another glorious era of international cricket came to an end with the retirement of renowned England bowler James Anderson. Following the first Test match against the West Indies at Lord’s last July 10, the 42-year-old fast bowler announced his retirement. In a recent interview, Anderson talked candidly about his decision to withdraw from the game.
The legend from Lancashire revealed some intriguing facts regarding his retirement, stating that he did not consider himself close to retirement. The master of pace bowling stated that he still had 12 to 18 months of Test cricket left in him and that the management had made the decision to let him go. He was disappointed by the decision made by people in the background.
I’m still not really sure about it. It’s one of those things that I couldn’t control. They decided that I should no longer be a part of the team. At the time, that was rather gutting. The Independent cited Anderson as saying, “I had been preparing for the next six, twelve, and eighteen months of Test cricket before my last Test match.”
“In my mind, I was far from retiring. The 2010 T20 World Cup champion went on to say, “I felt like I still had that desire and hunger to play, to put in the hard work, the training, the skill work.”
The response exceeded my expectations in every way: James Anderson
James Anderson added that his career was greatly impacted by taking over as the team’s bowling guru as soon as he retired. ‘Burnley Express’ reported that even when his playing days were over, he was content to be in the dressing room. The England mainstay also talked about how the crowd’s response on the last day of the Test series against the West Indies overwhelmed him.
It would have been more difficult for me to process things and accept that it was over if I had simply quit the team following that Test match against the West Indies. I believe it was beneficial for me to remain with the team, be in the dressing room, and continue to attempt to influence Test matches,” the former England great added.
“The response exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. I believe the final morning against the West Indies lasted about an hour or two, but the pitch was packed. “Seeing a sea of people there was incredible,” Anderson said.
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