James Anderson could remain as England manager following confirmation of retirement

With 700 Test wickets in a record 22-year international career, James Anderson stopped time. Photo: Action Images/Jason Cairnduff

James Anderson has confirmed that the first Test of the summer will be his last, but the great fast bowler intends to remain in the England squad as part of the support staff.

Anderson will retire weeks before his 42nd birthday against the West Indies at Lord's in July. He played a record 188 matches and took 700 Test wickets, a record for a fast bowler.

The Lancastrian has been hit on the head by England management as they look to the future and, in a statement released on Saturday, he confirmed retirement was inevitable.

“It’s been an incredible 20 years representing my country while playing the game. I’ve loved since I was a kid,” Anderson said. “I will really miss playing for England. But I know it's time to step aside and let others realize their dreams like I did, because there is no better feeling.»

Anderson says he is yet to discuss with Lancashire whether he will play for the rest of this season or next, but said he is talking to management about the remainder of the Test setup as a «mentor» for the remainder of this season. summer and perhaps beyond. England have been without a bowling coach since McCullum took over, with Anderson essentially filling the role of his younger colleagues. He will prepare for his final Test, playing for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire at Southport at the end of June.

“I'm excited about what the future holds, it might be nice to stay with the team in a different capacity this summer.” , — he said. “We talked about it, conversations continue. I will continue to talk to Stokesy, Baz and Rob Key about what happens after this Test match.

“I haven’t decided [whether to continue playing] yet. There are games at the end of the season that I don't rule out. I need to talk to Lancashire about it and see what they want to do.

“It's part of the thought process. I'm not 100 percent sure what I'll do next. This will be a conversation later to see what they want to do. To see if I actually have the desire and willingness to do this. It will be later this year.”

Anderson met Brendon McCullum, England's head coach, and Rob Key, managing director of cricket, at a hotel in Manchester last month to discuss his future. It was decided that this would be Anderson's last summer and he opted for an early retirement at Lord's, where he made his Test debut in 2003, rather than at his home ground of Old Trafford or the Kia Oval. where his great friends Alastair Cook (in 2018) and Stuart Broad (last summer) retired.

Following the news on Friday, Anderson, who has been training with Lancashire at Trent Bridge this week, stepped down from her BBC commentary duties for the England women's team. T20 International today at Edgbaston. However, he appeared on his Tailenders podcast to explain the situation.

“Baz comes from New Zealand and we have assessments every six months,” he said. “They’ve been discussing my future, I feel like I’ve been talking about this for 10 years. Every coach we had asked how long I would play! He was looking into the future: could I, 43, get to the Ashes in 18 months? We concluded that most likely not. At this point in my career, that seems like a stretch. From their point of view, they have about 15 Test matches before the Ashes, so that gives them time to give the boys experience before the Ashes series. We have come to a decision that I will play one more Test match.

«I feel myself good. I've had an amazing career. The questions surrounding retirement have been hanging around for many years, since I turned 30 I think, and have grown even more since I turned 40. I am very lucky that I managed to get to this age and still play at a really high level. . I get one more Test match and can go out at Lord's, where it started in 2003.

“I'd rather go out still bowling well than be in decline or slowing down. You want people to remember you for being the kind of bowler you were.”

He praised England's management, who he described as «sweet, kind, helpful — I couldn't have asked for more.»

England are looking build an attack to beat India at home in 2025 and Australia away this winter, by which time Anderson will be 43 years old. They signed a group of young fast bowlers such as Josh Tong, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts and Braydon Carse, while Anderson was given a one-year deal.

Anderson needs nine wickets in his last Test to overtake great Australian spinner Shane Warne into second place in history behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Oliver Brown

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