James Anderson not done yet, set to play in County Championship

James Anderson is arguably the greatest pace bowler from England to have graced Test cricket. Anderson has picked up 640 Test wickets in his Test career. This is the highest by a pace bowler in Test cricket and the third-highest among all bowlers.

Anderson has not yet come to terms with the fact that he has been dropped from the squad for the Test series against West Indies. James Anderson and his long-time bowling partner Stuart Board were axed from the team for the Caribbean tour despite bowling well in Ashes. The exclusions of these two stalwarts from the team have left the fans confused.

According to reports, the exclusion of Anderson and Board were on part of interim England Cricket Chief Andrew Strauss’s vision of looking at ‘exciting new bowling potential.” The duo has been replaced by Chris Woakes and Craig Overton for the three-match test series against West Indies.

Speaking at Eddie Hearn’s ‘No Passion No Point’ podcast, Anderson said that as he has been centrally contracted with England for over 15 years now, which has not allowed him to play for his county side thus, he will take this opportunity to play a few games for Lancashire. “Whether I play for England this year or not, it’s a great opportunity to go back to Lancashire and play for them. I’ve had a central contract for 15 years or so now so I’ve not played a huge amount for them. So, actually giving something back to them would be nice and trying to help them win a championship title,” said Anderson.

When asked about his long-term plans from this point, Anderson said that he is not looking too far ahead, adding that he is just waiting for the start of the season in April. He said he is eyeing to deliver a few good games for Lancashire that will help him get his slot back in the England team. ‘I don’t want to look too far ahead still, I’m thinking about the start of the season in April and at the minute I’ve got hunger and passion to play for Lancashire and hopefully that will take me on to England later in the summer,’ said Anderson as quoted by DailyMail.