Out-of-rhythm James Anderson dismisses retirement rumours

England fast bowler James Anderson has rubbished rumours that he’s contemplating retiring from Test cricket. Albeit the Brits rolled over Pakistan by three wickets at the Old Trafford in Manchester, Anderson didn’t quite have a great outing. The speedster could only pick up a solitary wicket and was frustrated after not being able to perform to the best of his potential.

Having picked 590 wickets from 154 Tests, Anderson is closing in on becoming the first paceman to 600 wickets in the format at the highest level. The 38-year-old said that he felt “out of rhythm”, but that hasn’t sparked thoughts of retirement by any means.

“No, there’s not, absolutely not [any truth to him considering his England future],” Anderson was quoted as saying on Wisden.

James Anderson ready to work hard

“It’s been a frustrating week for me personally because I have not bowled very well. I felt out of rhythm. Probably for the first time in ten years, probably got a little bit emotional on the field.

“Started getting frustrated, let that get to me a little bit and probably reminded me when I first started playing, when you actively get frustrated, little bit angry, try and start bowling quicker and quicker and that doesn’t help on the field,” he stated.

The second Test is set to get underway on August 13 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton and ahead of the game, the Lancashire-born wants to pull his socks up and find his lost rhythm. Most importantly, he wishes to show that he hasn’t run out of gas by any stretch of the imagination.

“To me, it’s a case of trying to want to get down to Southampton, work really hard next couple of days, trying and figure out if there are any technical issues – sort them out, and just try and work hard and hope I get enough for the next game, so that I can try and show people that I’ve still got what it takes to play Test cricket,” Anderson added.

Anderson has had to go through injuries quite a few times in the last 12 months. He was ruled out the 2019 Ashes and the scenario wasn’t any different in the four-match Test series against South Africa earlier this year. In the two-match series versus the West Indies, Anderson churned out five wickets.