Ben Stokes hints at James Anderson's involvement in Ashes 2025

James Anderson played his farewell game against West Indies as England won the game by an innings and 114 at Lord’s on July 12. Anderson picked up a solitary wicket in the first innings but was able to conjure three in the second innings. All the hopes were pinned on him to bag the final wicket of the game but the pacer failed to do so as he dropped Gudakesh Motie's catch off his own bowling. However, he showed contentment when Gus Atkinson picked the final wicket. 

Meanwhile, the veteran pacer will be travelling with the team during the next two Tests against West Indies as a mentor. England captain Ben Stokes, when queried about Anderson’s role beyond the mentor and in Ashes 2025, hinted at a full-fledged role within the realms of the England team. The right-arm pacer himself admitted that he will not be a technique-oriented mentor and also showed interest in his availability when the team needs him. 

"Yeah, definitely. That’s why we’re asking him to stay around. If he’s got the desire to help bowlers progress like he did with his own career, honestly I can’t think of a better person to able to influence all the fast bowlers. I’m really excited to see how that goes,” said Stokes as quoted by Daily Mail. 

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Anderson added: “I’m definitely not going to tell someone how to bowl. I’ll be a sounding board - I’ll be there if they need me. I’ll watch every ball they bowl and try to help them as much as I can."

Anderson raises toast for one last time

The 41-year-old ended his international cricket with 188 Tests and 704 wickets, the third-highest in the history of the format. It is worth noting that he sits atop the list for most wickets in Tests amongst pacers while only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne are ahead of him in the all-time chart. After the game, the England stalwart stood in the Lord’s balcony, where he debuted, and raised the toast.