I’M NOT PAST IT
Don’t write me off yet warns Jimmy
JIMMY ANDERSON hit back at the critics and insisted: “One poor game doesn’t mean I’m finished.”
England’s most successful bowler with 590 Test wickets hopes to get the chance to show he’s still got what it takes in the second Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday.
But the 38-year-old, who cut a frustrated figure in the win at Old Trafford, admitted: “If I keep bowling the way I did last week, the opportunity to retire will be taken out of my hands.”
In three Tests this summer, the Burnley Boomerang has managed just six wickets at an unflattering 41.17 each, and on his home ground he returned 1-97.
But England will discard him at their peril. The selectors got egg on their faces by dropping Stuart Broad against the West Indies last month, as he roared back to crash through the 500 Test wickets barrier.
Anderson said: “The frustration has been, after one bad game, the whispers that go around – and I don’t think that’s really fair.
“It’s been a frustrating week for me just because I’ve not bowled very well.
“I felt out of rhythm and for the first time in probably 10 years I got a little emotional on the field, started getting frustrated and let that get to me.
“It reminded me of when I started playing – when you get angry, you start trying to bowl quicker and quicker, and obviously that doesn’t help.
“I’ve never counted my chickens, I’ve never thought I’m definitely playing the next game. I want to play as long as I can, but I know I can perform better than I did last week.
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Something I’ve done well throughout my career is deal with the pressure that comes with playing Test cricket, whether that’s the pressure of expectation or the match situation.
“This time I didn’t deal with it very well, but I don’t want whispers that I’m going to pack in every time I have a bad game and I have to find a way of dealing with the outside noise.”
Anderson has no intention of ending his 17-year Test career especially as he is only seven caps short of Sir Alastair Cook’s 161 England record.
“I’m still hungry, I want to keep playing for as long as I possibly can and I want to get back to enjoying my cricket – which I didn’t this past week – and remember why I love the game,” he said.
“If I get 600 Test wickets, great. If I don’t, I’m happy with what I’ve got although if I can go past Cooky’s record, that will be probably be the one thing I’ve got on him, so I’ll take it.”