Veteran England pacer James Anderson talked about his career and his retirement plans. He called age just a number and said that 50 is a stretch for him.
Anderson is ageing like a fine wine and carrying the load of England’s bowling line-up in the longest format of the game even in his 40s. He’s currently playing his 173rd Test match and with the pace he’s going, the feat of 200 Test caps seems pretty much achievable.
Anderson, 40, has so far taken 657 wickets in Tests, which is the most by any pacer, at an average of 26.37 to go along with 32 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls in the traditional format.
Speaking on Sky Sports, James Anderson said that he’s blessed with a body that can cope with his bowling. He feels that he still can run to chase the balls and as long as he stays fit he’ll continue to play.
“I think that I have been blessed with a body that can cope with bowling. My action doesn’t take a huge amount of me. My speeds are still good enough. I still feel like I can throw myself around the field, chase balls to the boundary, so as long as that stays, I can’t see why I can’t go on,” James Anderson said.
Calling age just a number, the English pace spearhead quipped that he’ll push himself to play till 50.
If you talk to a lot of people, I shouldn’t be playing at 40… Age-wise definitely I should be doing something else. But for me, I don’t feel 40, it’s just a number. So as I said, as long as I am fit, contributing to the team, bowling well, and who knows how long I can go forward. Maybe 50 is a stretch but we’ll see,” he said.
Anderson said that he has been asked several times about his retirement but as long as he performs he’ll continue playing.
“I felt like the age thing has been asked about, how long I will keep going, for probably five or six years now. Once you hit mid-thirties, everyone’s like you surely can’t go on much longer, but I just think that I have been blessed with a body that can cope with bowling,” he said.
Anderson will be seen in action during the Day 2 of the ongoing Test against South Africa. England was 116/6 at stumps on Day 1. The pacer would be eager to have a crack at the Proteas batting line-up and put his team on top.
(Sky Sports inputs)
