James Anderson, who was left out of the Test touring party to the West Indies alongside Stuart Broad, is expected to get called back as Ben Stokes begins his captaincy tenure.
England veteran seamer James Anderson, who has been their attack leader in Test cricket for 15 years, believes he has more to offer to the sport. Anderson, who’s nearing 40 years, addressed the media in Leicester on Monday and hoped his name is included in the squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand, which is expected to be announced on Wednesday.
“Until that squad’s picked I’m not counting on anything. My job’s to try and prove that I’m in good form, take wickets for Lancashire and help them win games. That’s all I’m bothered about, and then we’ll see what happens whenever the team is announced,”.
Anderson said
Anderson has proven his form and fitness in the ongoing County Championship, including a memorable dismissal of his former captain Joe Root last week, and looks certain for a Test recall. It appears Anderson and Broad are the only capped options Stokes and the head coach Brendon McCullum have to call upon.
Matt Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, who made their debuts in the absence of the experienced duo in the Caribbean, have suffered stress fractures. Craig Overton and Chris Woakes are nursing knee injuries while Mark Wood and Jofra Archer are recovering from elbow operations. Ollie Robinson, who was supposed to be the man to lead the attack going forward, has been a fitness concern.
When asked about whether the omission from the West Indies tour caused him to rethink his priorities, Anderson admitted that he did have a discussion but enjoys his game at the moment and has a lot to offer.
“I definitely questioned it, yeah. I talked it through with my family as well, and they saw it as I did, that I feel like I’ve got more to give to the game. If I play the whole season for Lancashire, then great. If I get a Test call-up then brilliant, but at the minute I’m really enjoying playing cricket,”
he added.
Anderson rattled Joe Root’s stumps at Headingley on Sunday in a clash between Lancashire and Yorkshire. The rumours of the bad blood between the two have been floating around but Anderson squashed those, saying there’s immense respect between the two.
