What's new

The end of the line for James Anderson?

I can barely believe that he is 36 years old. He is in astonishing physical shape and looks like he could carry on for several more years. Who knows how many wickets he will retire on.
 
Does the emergence of Jofra Archer mean the end of Jimmy Anderson?

Jimmy is 37 and his fitness is finally letting him down. Archer adds a new dimension to the attack. Broad, Woakes and Stokes are nailed on. Curran is waiting in the wings.

Barring an injury I see no way back for Anderson.

Thoughts?
 
I think Anderson should retire now. He has had a fantastic career, and has achieved far more than what I initially assumed back in around 2007/08. He’s 37, and his fitness ain’t getting any better with time.
 
Jimmy is 37 and his fitness is finally letting him down. Archer adds a new dimension to the attack. Broad, Woakes and Stokes are nailed on. Curran is waiting in the wings.

Barring an injury I see no way back for Anderson.

Thoughts?

Yes I agree, Anderson should call it time on his magnificent career, there's also olly stone waiting in the wings who also has genuine pace which England will need when touring subcontinent and Australia
 
Yes I agree, Anderson should call it time on his magnificent career, there's also olly stone waiting in the wings who also has genuine pace which England will need when touring subcontinent and Australia

Plenty of options really; Henry Brooks 6ft+ pace/bounce and can bat to, Josh Tongue and Saqib Mahmood who bowls very quick. With that being said they do need overs under their belt but I wouldn't hold them back for too long
 
Plenty of options really; Henry Brooks 6ft+ pace/bounce and can bat to, Josh Tongue and Saqib Mahmood who bowls very quick. With that being said they do need overs under their belt but I wouldn't hold them back for too long

Brooks, tongue, mahmood need to play consistent cricket for a couple of seasons, then again non of thrm are express
 
Anderson has no reason to play anymore. He is already old, fitness getting worse, there are plenty of young bowlers eager to take his place. Anderson has nothing left to achieve.
 
I think Anderson should retire now. Broad should retire too.

Let young guns like Jofra take the stage.
 
Brooks, tongue, mahmood need to play consistent cricket for a couple of seasons, then again non of thrm are express

Given the work load these guys also are advised to pace themselves at an early stage; Brooks was bowling in the high 80s / early 90s before injury. Tongue has had some fitness woes to but he is being worked with closely, despite that both have a high level of control despite the inexperience at this stage. Saq is only 22 and has been clocked many times in the 90's. So there is a capability to bowl ferocious spells. Bowlers like Akhtar, Bond are an ancient myth in this era , but the likes of Jofra and Rabada are the closest we have to express and they hadn't necessarily been considered significantly quick at an early stage either but the selectors had them on their radar given the tools they displayed. Saq is in the lions squad, couldn't tour India due to his origin unfortunately and Brooks was the best bowler of the division 2 championship helping us back to division 1
 
One good spell and we are about to throw out a 500 wickets veteran and ATG. Brilliant thought process. Anderson alongside Root, are the first names on England’s test team sheet. Until Anderson calls time in his career, that won’t change.

Also if archer does not win England the game. I wouldn’t pick him ahead of Anderson. Anderson would of cleaned up the whole top middle order in these conditions. With broad cleaning up the tail.

No duo is as deadly as Anderson and broad for England.
 
The Burnley Lara will retire on his own terms.....
He is just too good in England conditions....
Archer and Anderson in the same team... in England...England unbeatable.
 
Given the work load these guys also are advised to pace themselves at an early stage; Brooks was bowling in the high 80s / early 90s before injury. Tongue has had some fitness woes to but he is being worked with closely, despite that both have a high level of control despite the inexperience at this stage. Saq is only 22 and has been clocked many times in the 90's. So there is a capability to bowl ferocious spells. Bowlers like Akhtar, Bond are an ancient myth in this era , but the likes of Jofra and Rabada are the closest we have to express and they hadn't necessarily been considered significantly quick at an early stage either but the selectors had them on their radar given the tools they displayed. Saq is in the lions squad, couldn't tour India due to his origin unfortunately and Brooks was the best bowler of the division 2 championship helping us back to division 1

Broad can hit 89-90 on occasions but doesn't mean that has fast, his normal speed is 83-84, as for saqs I've been watching his progression for a few years at lancashire being a fellow lancastrian, he's more fast medium than out and out quick, as for rabada and archer there's also starc who in the world cup on average speed was the quickest
 
One good spell and we are about to throw out a 500 wickets veteran and ATG. Brilliant thought process. Anderson alongside Root, are the first names on England’s test team sheet. Until Anderson calls time in his career, that won’t change.

Also if archer does not win England the game. I wouldn’t pick him ahead of Anderson. Anderson would of cleaned up the whole top middle order in these conditions. With broad cleaning up the tail.

No duo is as deadly as Anderson and broad for England.

England need to plan not just for English conditions but all oversees conditions also, broad and Anderson and woakes are pretty limited outside England
 
England need to plan for life post Broad and Anderson. Yes Anderson can wreck havoc on green tops but does that serve English Cricket in any way in the long run?

However England can't get rid of both of them together, has to be a gradual phasing out. I would recommend Anderson calls it a day now and Broad after 2-3 years
 
Anderson doesn’t seem to be able to stay fit these days. On that basis it’s time for him to retire.
 
Broad will retire in two-to-three years time.

He’s on course to break 500 and perhaps even 550.

But besides Archer (whose body can’t take 10-15 years of bowling out and out fast), there aren’t plenty of options.

Woakes is brilliant with the new ball but can’t stay economic enough on flat wickets.
 
England need to plan not just for English conditions but all oversees conditions also, broad and Anderson and woakes are pretty limited outside England

Broad has a good record in SA - 26 average in eight tests and I think he will improve on that. Woakes hasn’t played there yet, so we don’t know.
 
Last edited:
It all depends on where they fit Jimmy into the line up. Will they rotate him, Woakes and Broad for a while at least?

I have personally never liked the idea of having older players hang in, even when their bodies start to fail them. Jimmy may be a liability but he deserves at least a match or two to show his fitness (Broad or Woakes will make way to rotate Jimmy in I guess). If his body fails him again, he needs to be dropped.

Archer, Woakes, Broad (For now), Stokes, Wood (if fit), Porter (if fit) and a handful of others are either first names on sheets or knocking on the door. The Anderson era comes to an end soon.
 
Broad has a good record in SA - 26 average in eight tests and I think he will improve on that. Woakes hasn’t played there yet, so we don’t know.

good point. I think people are overlooking Mark Wood as well. Him and Archer bowling in tandem will be a sight to see.
 
Broad has a good record in SA - 26 average in eight tests and I think he will improve on that. Woakes hasn’t played there yet, so we don’t know.

South African wickets are generally suited to England's medium fast seamers, im on about India, uae, Australia where the wickets are flat and then England's battery of medium fast seamers are ineffective
 
good point. I think people are overlooking Mark Wood as well. Him and Archer bowling in tandem will be a sight to see.

I think wood now almost 30 and all the injuries hes had is on his last leg and is unreliable because of his constant injuries
 
Jimmy will go the same way as steyns
Jofra is the future of bowling , him and Russell both are superb athletes
 
olly stone is the only other real fast bowler after archer. these two will probably tour south africa december this year. if the pitches, like the wanderers minefiled india got , are served then anderson may play.
but england has a lot of bowlers like porter and ben coad have been denied oppurtunities because of anderson;s prolonged career.

james porter is very unlucky not have debuted by now, he has a phenomenal fc record. josh tongue is very young, looks fast and may be the future of eng's bowling attack. tongue is the fastest from porter and coad

eng have all the bowlers, spinners , all rounders. they just need proper batsmen
 
Doesn’t anyone want to see this bowling attack on a fast, bouncy pitch?

Archer
Anderson
Broad
Wood
Stokes
 
People should not put all their expectations on Archer. He has just started.

Anderson should retire by the end of this year but Broad should continue for a couple more years.
 
England's James Anderson will look to prove Ashes fitness by playing for Lancashire's second XI

England seamer James Anderson will continue his push for an Ashes comeback by playing for Lancashire's second XI.

Anderson, 37, has been left out of England's squad for the third Test against Australia at Headingley as he continues to recover from the right calf injury that ruled him out of the second game at Lord's and limited him to four overs in the first fixture at Edgbaston.

However, he will return to action for Lancashire's second string in a three-day match against Leicestershire from Tuesday as he aims to prove his fitness ahead of the fourth Ashes clash at Old Trafford from September 4.

An ECB statement read: "England and Lancashire seamer James Anderson is making progress from his injured right calf.

"Anderson will step up his rehabilitation this week by playing for Lancashire second XI against Leicestershire in a three-day friendly match starting on Tuesday August 20 at Northern Cricket Club, Liverpool.

"He will be assessed on an ongoing basis ahead of selection for the fourth Specsavers Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford starting on Wednesday, September 4."

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...-fitness-by-playing-for-lancashires-second-xi
 
Jimmy is on the way to being done - but when fully fit he still gets into the first team imo. He is still in great shape for his age and I don’t think he is quite finished yet. Maybe another year left.

Broad, Anderson, Archer, Stokes and Leach is a genuinely strong bowling attack for Tests.

Now that we have Archer though everything has changed - suddenly with him and Woakes emerging, at last I can see life beyond Anderson and Broad, and that has taken many years to get to this point.
 
jimmy will probably hang up the boots with one more match winning performance and an Ashes series win to top it off. Broad will probably be dropped before Anderson unless the latter calls it time himself.
 
James Anderson Update:

He’ll play a four-day 2nd XI friendly for Lancashire against Durham at Chester Boughton Hall CC from Tuesday 27 August.

He is at Headingley today and continues his rehabilitation with the England medical team.

If he's fit for the next test, should he come back into the XI and, if so, who should be dropped?
 
Archer being overworked by Root? Almost like a new toy to play with!
 
South African wickets are generally suited to England's medium fast seamers, im on about India, uae, Australia where the wickets are flat and then England's battery of medium fast seamers are ineffective

Anderson and Broad have excellent records in UAE.
 
England set to drop jimmy Anderson for the second test

England are set to drop jimmy Anderson and bring in a specialist spinner dom best for the second test
 
Failed to win a single test there in 6 outings and lost 5. Decent averages though.

I did not know it was Anderson/Broad vs Pakistan then. It is amazing that this ** of PPers undermining excellent performances in the service of a lost cause has not gone away yet.
 
Yes, the end is near. English players don’t overstay their welcome so we can expect him to retire after the next English summer.

He looks tired and he probably does not deserve to be an automatic starter anymore.
 
Anderson may have good stats even now but his body has given up. Only a matter of time before he starts chucking pies. Better retire now than be permanently dropped.
 
I have been saying for months Anderson should retire but Anderson wants him to play till 40,it's better ECB must sack him.
 
James Anderson willing to play in Hundred if red-ball county season is wiped out

England seamer James Anderson says he would be willing to play in The Hundred and Vitality Blast this summer if that was the only competitive cricket being staged.

The domestic season has been delayed until at least May 28 due to the coronavirus pandemic and white-ball cricket is expected to take priority if and when the 2020 campaign begins.

Lancashire bowler Anderson, 37, is not part of a Hundred franchise's playing staff - he has a mentoring role at Manchester Originals - but that could change if it was the sole way he could keep himself fit for when England resume Test cricket.

"I want to be playing cricket and if that is the only cricket going on, whether it's The Hundred or the T20 Blast, then I'd love to be involved in that," Anderson told reporters on Thursday.

"If there wasn't any red-ball cricket then it would be a long, long time for me to just be ticking over in the nets. I'd much rather be playing competitive cricket than not. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

England's busy home summer includes three-Test series against West Indies and Pakistan, contests Anderson hoped to play in after a rib injury shortened his tour of South Africa in January and he was rested for the now-postponed series in Sri Lanka this month.

The paceman says a ball may not be bowled all summer due to the severity of the coronavirus outbreak - but he insists that would be "no huge sacrifice" for cricketers with people's health the most pressing concern.

"I am not fretting about playing cricket, I feel we and I will play cricket again. It's more just the uncertainty of everything that is going on," said England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker.

"It's obviously a scary time for everyone and obviously my family's health is the first priority and cricket is very much secondary.

"In my head, I'm not really thinking about when we are going to play cricket. I would be silly not to think about not bowling a ball this summer and I think at the moment that's pretty realistic.

"But some people are sacrificing a hell of a lot for us trying to keep us healthy so us sacrificing some, and potentially all, of the cricket season is not a huge sacrifice.

"Something like this puts everything in perspective. Cricket has been a huge part of my life for a number of years but in the grand scheme of things the importance isn't that great."

Anderson insists he was fit to tour Sri Lanka this spring but understands the selectors' reasoning for delaying his comeback in preparation for the English summer.

The seamer, who has taken 584 wickets in his 151 Tests to date, says he remains hungry to play for England and is now just 16 scalps away from becoming the first seamer to 600 in Tests.

"I think the decision was taken to give me a bit more time to be 100 per cent for the summer. Having toured Sri Lanka fairy recently, the part seam bowlers play is fairly limited, so it made sense to me to look a little bit further ahead," Anderson added.

"My plan is to get back in the England team, I think I can still play a part. I am hungry to play and I've still got ambitions so that is going to keep me driven. Long term, I think I could get to next summer.

"I'm certainly going to enjoy putting the whites back on and cherish it but it could be a way off now."

Anderson believes that if county cricket does resume in the final days of May that could be too short a timeframe for England to be ready for the West Indies Tests, which are due to begin on June 4.

"You are going to need some sort of build-up. You can't go from not bowling to bowling in a Test match at fairly short notice. How long that is I'm not sure," he said.

"I'd suggest [May 28] is not long enough - it would be seven or eight days before a Test match but if we can get out and about in May and train with our counties, it might be more feasible."

Anderson has been spending some of his enforced break battling fellow England seamers Stuart Broad and Mark Wood in a virtual cycling challenge, something he says is helping his physical and mental wellbeing.

"All the lads are messaging each other, trying to stick together. We have bikes and you can see how everyone is performing on the leaderboard. Stuart came top this time with me a close second and Mark third," said Anderson.

"It's nice to have some interaction with other people and I think it will become more and more prevalent as the weeks go on. I think keeping fit helps the mind as well.

"I'm doing everything but bowling as I don't really have the space. At a push I could bowl against a wall just to keep the body staying used to the movements. I have been going through my action in the living room. Subconsciously, your body wants to do it!"
https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...undred-if-red-ball-county-season-is-wiped-out
 
I think Jimmy should retire once he goes past his 600 wickets.
 
I think Jimmy should retire once he goes past his 600 wickets.

I dont think theres anyway he will be retiring willingly I think a quiet word in the ear will be needed to get him to leave

Hes looked so far very innocuous this summer
 
I dont think theres anyway he will be retiring willingly I think a quiet word in the ear will be needed to get him to leave

Hes looked so far very innocuous this summer

Never write him off
 
Anderson mentioned that he will look to aim for the England Ashes series in Australia as his Swansong in 2021-22.
 
Anderson mentioned that he will look to aim for the England Ashes series in Australia as his Swansong in 2021-22.

that would be a terrible send off series

A home test series is way better
 
His bowling in England is poetry in motion.
An absolute joy to watch.



It truly is poetry in motion.

Yes he goes to another level in cloudy, seaming conditions but by God no one has ever exploited favorable conditions as well he can. True artist!
 
Not sure if that's the right time to end your career as England usually gets smashed down under.

Valid point. I think retiring at Old Trafford would be the most fitting end to his career or atleast at some venue in England.
 
Anderson mentioned that he will look to aim for the England Ashes series in Australia as his Swansong in 2021-22.

It might be worth picking him just for the pink ball test. I would not pick him otherwise. Time to bring on someone younger.
 
15 wickets in 5 tests for Anderson this season, not as impressive tbh.

Broad has 29 in 5 tests.

Woakes has 17 in 5 tests.

Archer has 8 in 4 tests.
 
It looks like his determined to play until the ashes in Australia. England will allow him to make the decision on his future rather than forcing him out.

I can see England picking and choosing his tests carefully to ensure he makes the next ashes.
 
Assuming the winter series against Sri Lanka and India go ahead, I expect Anderson to not play more than a couple of matches.

With respect to the Ashes, England can only afford to pick one of Broad or Anderson in the XI and it's unlikely Anderson makes the team on merit in that case. He might need to settle for playing only the pink ball test.
 
15 wickets in 5 tests for Anderson this season, not as impressive tbh.

Broad has 29 in 5 tests.

Woakes has 17 in 5 tests.

Archer has 8 in 4 tests.
He was pretty unlucky and had the most edges drawn and misses. Rain also cumulatively took awat one test. He was definitely the best bowler after broad.


Archer's stats look pretty poor though
 
As long as Anderson is getting wickets at home, he will play.
Can try him for one or two tests in subcontinent, but not more than that. A pink ball ashes test as well.

But Anderson should not be selfish and think about the team. He has already prevented other young English seamers from
Ollie, Robinson, Olly Stone, Ben Coad, Joshua Tongue. These seamers deserve a chance at international cricket . Anderson is delaying their careers.
 
Back
Top