While Joe Root laments the retirement of James Anderson, he accepts England’s choice to move on from the great fast bowler in order to prepare for the next Australian trip.
At Lord’s on Friday, Anderson bid a fond farewell to international cricket after finishing with 704 wickets as England easily defeated the West Indies in the opening Test, winning by an innings and 114 runs. Despite being forced to retire, Anderson, 41, was content following his 188th and last cap. He will now serve as the team’s bowling coach for the next two Test matches as well as the next series against Sri Lanka.
Playing 110 Tests with Anderson, Root has been a part of the journey for the most part. With 46 caps, he is the second-most frequent skipper after Alastair Cook (49). Root, who made his debut at Nagpur in December 2012 with Anderson, said he will “terribly” miss his close buddy on the pitch.
“For me, all I’ve ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that’s been for 12 years,” Root stated.
“Watching Stuart [Broad] depart last year and [now] Jimmy is a little strange. Playing with him will be much missed, but having him around for the summer will benefit the next young bowlers and allow us to continue utilizing his knowledge and all the other resources he provides in the changing room. In some respects, it’s painful to see him go, but I’m also extremely happy that he was able to receive the send-off that he deserves.”
Next Monday, at Trent Bridge, Anderson’s new position will get underway for the first of 17 Test matches that will precede the Ashes series in 2024–2025. Given that they are currently positioned at the bottom of the World Test Championship, the fact that England is looking so far forward has caused a great deal of controversy.
However, there is a strong desire to win the urn back after losing it in 2017–18, especially in light of the 2-2 draw from last summer. The first signs of that future-planning may be seen in Gus Atkinson’s appearance at Lord’s, when he finished with 7 for 45 and 5 for 61, and Jamie Smith’s 70 and four catches as the new wicketkeeper.
Root is more aware than most of the significance of preparing for an Ashes tour. He has never won a Test match (or scored a century) in Australia, and he has lost three in his career, two of them as captain. As a result, he understands the reasoning used, especially in light of a humiliating 4-0 loss in 2021–22 that he believes shouldn’t have happened in the first place due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
In hindsight, perhaps we shouldn’t have gone the last time? The last time we visited, it was about leaving the lights on, thinking of Covid.
This presents a fresh chance for us. At the time, we took the action we believed to be appropriate. The next time, we’ll be in an entirely different situation. The secret, in my opinion, is that even with the greatest of intentions and preparation, things still need to work out.
“I believe that as a player, these are the series you always anticipate and want to succeed in. Above all, you consider the results of our past tours in Australia and the things we believe will work there under such circumstances.
“Someone like Gus who can bowl at late 80s and early 90s [mph] and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace is what teams have needed when they have gone out there in those conditions.” On such a sluggish wicket here, it was fantastic to see him go in and perform that.”
Speaking about touring Australia, Root is cautious of a comeback after West Indies emerged from their trip earlier this year with a 1-1 tie. Shamar Joseph’s team’s historic victory in Brisbane attests to the caliber of this touring team, despite their lackluster performances with scores of 121 and 136 in cloudy weather on a sluggish Lord’s surface.
“We’ve not seen what they’re capable of with the bat yet, and we won’t be taking that for granted and taking that lightly,” he stated.
“They have some really talented bowlers when it comes to the ball. All you have to do is consider their performance in January at Brisbane, Australia, where winning a Test match is extremely difficult.
Regarding Root, he is still the fourth oldest member of the team because 34-year-old Mark Wood was brought in to play the rest of the series when Anderson retired. Even though he witnessed Broad and Anderson exit the game with tremendous fanfare in consecutive home Tests, he has no intention of retiring.
He dismissedively said, “Oh, here we go,” when asked if he had considered making his own curtain call. “Not right now. I hope to continue playing for a considerable amount of time. And I’m sure I’ll figure something out when that day arrives.
“That kind of storybook finish, like the ones Jimmy, Stuart, and Cookie [had at the Oval in 2018] had, has to be earned. My only goal is to assist this squad win as many games as possible and score as many runs as I can for them.
“Until that focus changes and until that drive changes, then I’ll continue to solely focus on that and we’ll worry about that hopefully a long way down the road.”
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