ADULT CHAT LINE
Anderson will cherish putting on his cricket gear again, but says pausing the game is a small price to pay in these troubled times
JAMES ANDERSON says he will cherish the moment he gets to don the whites again, but says pausing for coronavirus is a small price to pay by the nation’s cricketers.
Anderson has played more Test cricket than any other current England player with 151 caps. But after what could be the longest lay-off of his career the next cap will be among the most special.
The 37-year-old suffered a broken rib in Cape Town in January and he had been targeting the first Test in June for his return
But that Windies series is now in jeopardy as are the three matches against Pakistan that are due to follow.
Whenever England’s next Test does get played Anderson is certain to be on the team sheet, but until then he is keeping it all in perspective.
“Cricket has been a huge part of my life for quite a number of years, but you actually see the importance of it, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that great,” said England’s record Test wicket-taker. “What people are sacrificing in the NHS and sadly people are losing their lives to this virus.. there are much more important things in the world. It could be quite a long lay-off now.
“I think everyone is in the same boat in all sports not playing at the minute.
“If and when I do play again, I might have a different outlook on it all. “I’m certainly going to enjoy getting the whites back on and
...................................... Matches ...................................... Balls ...................................... Wickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v West Indies, Lord’s 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . v Pakistan, Trent Bridge 2010 Average ................................... Debut: .................................
(Sri Lanka) 133 matches 800 wickets (Australia) . . . . . . . 145 matches 708 wickets (India) . . . . . . . . . . . 132 matches 619 wickets (England). . . 151 matches 584 wickets (Australia) . . . . . 124 matches 563 wickets
getting back out there. The fact I’ve been able to do this for a long time and I get to play a sport as a job means when I do get to do that again, I’m really going to cherish it and enjoy every single moment of it.”
Like any other parent, Anderson has been doing his bit as a teacher at home with his two daughters, in between his own fitness work as he tries to stay in some kind of shape.
He narrowly lost out to Stuart Broad in a Peleton indoor bike challenge that also involved Mark Wood (left), as the England team-mates keep each other going online.
When it comes to bowling though he has not been able to replicate his full run-up and action due to space constraints.
That is why Anderson insists that whenever Test matches do get the green light, a decent amount of practice is needed beforehand to get players ready.
“Like me, the majority won’t have the space to bowl properly,” he added. “I think that’s why we’ll need to have some sort of pre-season if and when that time comes. “You can’t expect to just start the season after a couple of weeks’ notice.
“I think guys who have been sat around for a long time, some of the players might have been ill as well, you’ll need some sort of build-up because you can’t go from not bowling at all to then having to bowl in a Test match at very short notice.”