England ace Jimmy Anderson plays down talk of retirement from cricket

‘I don’t want every time I have a bad game for there to be whispers that I’m going to pack in’: Jimmy Anderson plays down talk of retirement as England’s all-time leading wicket taker reaffirms his ambition to play in the next Ashes series

  • Jimmy Anderson has reiterated his desire to continue playing cricket for England
  • The record-breaking Test seamer Anderson has endured a frustrating summer 
  • Anderson is currently on 590 wickets and faces being rested for the next Test
  • His form and potential of being left out led to speculation he was going to retire 

Jimmy Anderson has reiterated his desire to continue playing Test cricket for England and put an end to speculation of an imminent retirement.

The record-breaking Test seamer has endured a frustrating summer and the chances are increasing that he may be struggling to reach the magical figure of 600 Test wickets.

Anderson, now 38, is currently on 590 wickets and faces being rested for the second Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday. That led to speculation he may retire but he insisted on Monday that he wants to continue playing.

Jimmy Anderson has insisted he has no plans to retire from international cricket just yet 

Anderson takes the ball from new-ball partner Stuart Broad during the first Test in Manchester

Anderson takes the ball from new-ball partner Stuart Broad during the first Test in Manchester

He said: ‘It’s been a frustrating week for me personally. I’ve not bowled very well and felt out of rhythm.

‘For the first time in probably 10 years I got a little bit emotional on the field, got a bit frustrated, let it get to me a little bit. It reminded me of when I first started playing, when you get frustrated and a little bit angry you try and bowl quicker and quicker and it doesn’t help.

‘It was one bad game and I’m sure I’ll have another bad game in my career. I just don’t want every time I have a bad game for there to be whispers going round that I’m going to pack in.

‘For me it’s about trying to find a way of dealing with that, dealing with the outside noise. I’ve done that really well in my career, but it’s a little bit different now.

‘I want to play as long as I possibly can. If I keep bowling the way I did this week, the opportunity to retire will be taken out of my hands. It will be a selection issue.’

Anderson looked a frustrated figure during England's three-wicket victory last week

Anderson looked a frustrated figure during England’s three-wicket victory last week

Anderson was dropped for the second Test against the West Indies but did play in the final Test of the series and the first Pakistan Test.

He looked a frustrated figure during England’s three-wicket victory last week as he only grabbed one wicket across two innings.

England have called up Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson to their bio-secure bubble in Southampton and he will be in contention for a debut against Pakistan, possibly at the expense of Anderson.  

Ben Stokes will not be involved in the rest of the Pakistan series as he will be travelling to New Zealand for family reasons but he only bowled in the second innings as he has been struggling with an injury.

Stokes did grab two crucial wickets against Pakistan and Zak Crawley looks like the most obvious candidate to replace him in the side. 

The hosts struggled in their first innings against the visitors’ ferocious attack and Crawley would come into the batting line-up at three.



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