Angry old Anderson is still hungry for more
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. — JAMES ANDERSON England pacer
Manchester, Aug. 10: James Anderson insisted Monday he was still “hungry” to play Test cricket after speculation the England great was considering retirement.
Anderson recently turned 38, an age where many previous pace bowlers would have long since retired. Given his age, Anderson’s meagre match haul of 1-97 during England’s three-wicket win in the first Test against Pakistan inevitably led to speculation about his future.
By his own admission, Anderson, England’s alltime leading wicket-taker, “did not bowl very well” at his Old Trafford home ground, where one of the ends is named after him, as England went 1-0 up in a three-match series.
But the swing specialist, whose 590 wickets are the most taken by any paceman in Test history, said he should not be written off after one poor game. “I want to play as long as I possibly can,” Anderson told reporters during a conference call on Monday.
“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,” he added ahead of Thursday’s second Test at Southampton.
“I’m still hungry to play the game. I think the frustration for me this week was that, after one bad game... the sort of whispers (about retirement) that go around, I don’t think that’s really fair,” Anderson said.
Reflecting on his own performance in the first Test, Anderson said: “It’s one of those things, everyone has a bad game, every now and then. 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.”