“Still hungry to play the game,” says James Anderson while combating retirement rumours

James Anderson: The veteran English seamer considers the prevailing rumours regarding his retirement as unfair.

At 38, veteran England seamer James Anderson is at that stage of his career where one below par performance will invite criticism ranging directly to his retirement from international career.

Unfortunately for Anderson, the last Test against Pakistan was one such occasion where he didn’t perform as well as he and fans would have liked. In the three Tests that Anderson has played this summer, his six wickets have come at an average of 41.16 and a strike rate of 92.

Addressing the media from the bio-secure bubble, Anderson, admitted to the past week being frustrating for himself primarily because of him not being able to execute things in an apt manner.

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“It’s been a frustrating week for me personally because I have not bowled very well, I felt out of rhythm. Probably for the first time in ten years, I got a little bit emotional on the field, started getting frustrated, let that get to me a little bit. When you get frustrated and a little bit angry, you try and bowl quicker and quicker. That doesn’t help on the field,” Anderson told the reporters.

James Anderson combats retirement rumours

With England adding pacer Ollie Robinson to their squad for the remaining two Tests against Pakistan, it would be interesting to see how many out of the seven pacers get to play the second Test in Southampton. With England resting Anderson after the first Test against West Indies, they might be witnessed doing the same this time as well.

“I was chatting to [head coach] Chris Silverwood and [pace bowling consultant] Pop Welch about some basics, making sure my action is where I want it to be and finding that timing. Hopefully, I can continue this week and keep my fingers crossed that the captain and coach keep faith with me for the next game,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who had previously hoped for career extension due to the COVID-19 break, confidently combated rumours regarding his retirement from the highest level.

“No, absolutely not. I am still hungry to play the game. The frustration for me has been after one bad game, the whispers that go around. I don’t think that’s fair,” Anderson added.