Veteran England bowler James Anderson finds himself at something of a crossroads in terms of his test career. The experienced campaigner performed fairly well, considering, during the recent Ashes debacle but has been overlooked in terms of selection for the tour of the West Indies that begins in March.
The 39-year-old, who has taken 640 test wickets over the course of his 169 tests (only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne have taken more), was surprised to be left out of the upcoming tour but the fact that fellow bowler Stuart Broad (sixth on the all-time Test wicket-taking list) has also been left out says something about the direction the ECCB has chosen to take.
Anderson may well feel his test career is in trouble and may have to consider other options when it comes to his cricket progression. If he, or indeed Stuart Broad, were to try their hand in India, then that would no doubt help any potential IPL betting tip a bettor may choose to make, such is the obvious ability both players still possess.
While clearly James Anderson's career is in the latter stages, the Lancashire player turns 40 in July; he showed in Australia that he can still mix it with the best of them. After all, he returned the best bowling averages of the England team, his eight wickets coming at a healthy 23.37 average.
Anderson does, however, appears to fear the worst;
“I'm praying this isn't the end,”
“But if I never play for England again, I know I've got amazing people around me to support me, and that's really important,” Anderson added, before continuing;
“I've got one more go at digging deep,” he said.
“I've got a lot left to offer – I've still got the hunger and passion to play”
“It was a shock and a disappointment to get that call, but having processed it, it's important I try to focus on the stuff I can control, and that's showing people what I can do with the ball in my hand.”
Anderson started his England test career way back in the summer of 2003 and has been a great servant for the team. England managing director, and former team-mate, Andrew Strauss has insisted that this doesn’t mean the end of his or Broad’s test careers.
He’ll hope that he is back in the running for a call-up when England starts their home test series with New Zealand in early June. Anderson will be keeping himself in trim shape ahead of what he hopes will be a return for the visit of the Kiwis, and clearly, if England fails to impress in the West Indies, then the chances of a recall will increase significantly.
England’s first test against the West Indies starts on the 8th of March and takes place at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, Antigua, and comes after a T20 series that the home side edged 3-2 in January.
