This article was originally crafted by me on 10-12-2023. Reposted for archival purposes.
Only two England speedsters have managed to secure an aggregate of 500+ wickets in their whole test career. Out of those two individuals, only one is yet to retire. The more surprising aspect is, Stuart Broad, who bid adieu from Tests in the last Ashes series with a standing ovation is much younger than him and stands way behind in the number of scalps.
Yes, that’s how the career of James Michael Anderson has always been. One of the most dedicated athletes and achievers world cricket has ever seen. When you check the list of most wickets in test cricket, you can behold him standing tall, unretired. There are seven who can boast a scalp count of 500 in tests, but Jimmy is the only one yet to hang up the boots. The only intriguing part is, can he keep up with his form?
The recently concluded Ashes Series saw a great slump in Jimmy’s performances. He struggled to find rhythm with just 5 wickets from 4 tests. The Anderson we long to see sends the off-stump cartwheeling and keeps the slip fielders occupied whenever he releases the ball. English fans possessed the luck to watch Stuart Broad end on a high note. Well then, we would definitely want to watch Anderson bidding farewell after a major comeback with his head tilted up.
Anderson is just 10 scalps away from the elite milestone of 700 wickets in Test match cricket. Cricket fans could witness one of the glorious scenes if he achieves that in his next series and bids goodbye. Furthermore, this is a man who has not even insinuated about his retirement. So his future remains unpredictable. He was also confronted by one of his worst slumps in a tournament of paramount importance. When he finally retires, we can see the imminent formation of a huge void that cannot be easily patched up. Anderson’s presence in the starting XI wearing that white Jersey gives a certain completion to the England test team.
