LONDON: England veteran pacer James Anderson said he would like to return to the Test team under new captain Ben Stokes after being controversially dropped from the squad.
Anderson, who has played 169 Test matches and picked up 640 wickets was left out of England’s tour of the West Indies. His exclusion, along with that of his pace bowling partner Stuart Broad was attributed to a reset of English Test cricket after their 4-0 series defeat in the Ashes against Australia.
England though fared poorly in the Caribbean, losing the three-match series 1-0, with Joe Root deciding to step down as the Test skipper, paving the way for Ben Stokes to take over. This has left England languishing at the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 standings.
The appointment of Stokes as the captain and Rob Key as the Director of the men’s team has paved the way for the pair to make a comeback.
“Stuart and I were hoping our careers weren’t over. So it’s nice to hear there’s a chance,” Anderson said while speaking to the BBC. “It still means we’ve got to put in some performances here with our counties to prove that we’re playing well enough to get in that final 11.”
Anderson also praised Ben Stokes, calling him a “natural leader who has the respect of the group”, adding that he was the obvious choice to become the next England captain.
He concluded that it was time for English cricket to get back to winning ways, having struggled recently. “We’ve had a tough few years, we’re down the bottom of the Test Championship. English cricket needs to get back to winning Test matches.”
🏴 England look to turn over a new leaf with the appointment of Ben Stokes as their new Test captain.
What sort of captain will the all-rounder be? 👉 https://t.co/J3hnbQ64j5#WTC23 pic.twitter.com/9AiX9ln0gn
— ICC (@ICC) April 29, 2022
England unveiled Stokes as their Test captain on Thursday, hoping for a swift turnaround after a tame end this month to Joe Root’s five years in charge. Stokes’ first assignment will be a two-match home series in June against New Zealand.
