Steve Harmison, the former England cricketer, feels the 5-match Test series against India will be the last in the international career of James Anderson.
James Anderson is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when it comes to pacers. Even at the age of 39, James Anderson has been one of England’s biggest performers in the whites. Steve Harmison feels James Anderson will call it a day after the 5-match Test series against India.
Steve Harmison Feels James Anderson Will Retire At The End Of Old Trafford Test, The 5th Test Against India
One of the greatest cricketers of all time and a true ambassador of the Gentleman’s Game, England pacer James Anderson has defied all odds to continue performing at the highest level even a the age of 39. Former England pacer Steve Harmison, however, feels the 5th Test between India and England at Old Trafford will be the last chapter in James Anderson’s stunning career as an international cricketer.
Though James Anderson himself has not spoken about the possibilities of retirement, especially considering how instrumental he has been to England in the three matches of the series against India so far, Steve Harmison said that he has a ‘funny feeling’ that the Test series against India will be the end of his international career.
“I’ve got a funny feeling, I don’t know what it is, but I really have got a funny feeling that Jimmy Anderson will retire at the end of Old Trafford,” Steve Harmison told the talkSPORT cricket podcast.
“I don’t think the Ashes will either go ahead or go ahead in such a way and I think Jimmy might just look at this and go ‘you know what, if I go to The Oval and bowl well and then I’ve got Old Trafford at the end, my illustrious career couldn’t get any better than to finish by knocking Virat Kohli over from the end I bowl at, which is named after me, and there’s potentially no Ashes in six months time,” Steve Harmison added.
James Anderson has been phenomenal against India in the series, taking 13 wickets at 16.25 and a strike rate of 47.7. The England Test veteran has taken a whopping 30 wickets at 19.79 this year alone, including two five-wicket hauls.
James Anderson Is The 3rd Highest Wicket Taker Behind Spin Duo Of Muttiah Muralitharan And Shane Warne
When it comes to the list of all-time greats, James Anderson is the third-highest on the list of wicket-takers in the longest format of the game, with only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne ahead of him.
Though Steve Harmison has spoken about the possibility of James Anderson calling it a day after the conclusion of the series, the international cricketing spectrum would want him to continue for many more years and deliver the same level of performances he has been.
There are only 4 bowlers who have taken 600 or more scalps. They are Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne(708), James Anderson (630), and Anil Kumble(619).
Among fast bowlers, James Anderson is the leading wicket-taker of all-time at Test cricket level, as the only fast bowler to have taken 600 or more Test wickets, and is the third-highest wicket-taker overall. He also holds the record for the most wickets taken by an England player in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. In June 2021 he made his 162nd appearance for England in Test cricket, becoming England’s most capped player.
The battle between India skipper Virat Kohli and James Anderson may not take place in the fourth Test at The Oval as the veteran England pace bowler could be rested and return only for the fifth Test in Manchester. The quick turnaround in the last three Test matches — to be played within three weeks — is forcing both the teams to rotate bowlers. While India has already made it clear, the English team could also go that way.
At the age of 39, James Anderson has already bowled more overs in the first three Tests than any of the Indian seamers has bowled. He has bowled 116.3 overs which is just two balls less than Ollie Robinson (116.5), who has bowled the most in the series.
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