'We’ve not fallen out or anything' - James Anderson dismisses rumours of rift between him and Joe Root

Veteran England pacer James Anderson has rubbished the rumours of rift between him and former England captain Joe Root. Earlier this year, Anderson, alongside fellow pacer Stuart Broad, was dropped for England’s Test tour of West Indies. The Three Lions lost the three-match series 0-1 and that turned out to be Root’s last leadership assignment in whites. Meanwhile, both Anderson and Broad were upset with their ouster and the same was evident in their strong statements.

As Root was the England skipper at that time, he supposedly played a part in the controversial omissions of two of England’s most successful Test pacers. Owing to the same, rumours are rife that there would be bad blood between the pacers and Root. However, Anderson rubbished all such reports.

There’s still a huge amount of respect between Joe Root and me: James Anderson

“We do talk, we’ve not fallen out or anything, we chatted (during the game),” said Anderson, the most successful Test pacer of all-time with 640 wickets. “I spoke to him before he announced that he was stepping down. There’s still a huge amount of respect between the two of us so there’s no animosity,” Anderson was quoted as saying by Yorkshire Post.

Meanwhile, Anderson recently castled Joe Root’s stumps with a classic inswinger during a County Championship game. Speaking on the same, the 39-year-old stated: “I’ve watched the video a few times,” added a smiling Anderson. “The thing I like about it the most is it’s a good ball. It wasn’t intended to be reverse but it’s definitely drifted in. It was wobble seam.”

Notably, England are gearing up to host New Zealand in a three-match Test series, which gets underway on June 2. Both Anderson and Broad are set to return to the squad as new skipper Ben Stokes has openly batted about their return. Meanwhile, the series will also mark Brendon McCullum’s first assignment as England’s Test coach.