Anderson – The senior citizens of British athletics have already experienced a very emotional week. Andy Murray let go at Wimbledon on Thursday, saying farewell to Centre Court and acknowledging that his body could no longer support his unwavering spirit.
In contrast, Mark Cavendish and Lewis Hamilton demonstrated at Saint Vulbas that same day what a champion’s attitude can still accomplish when fate ultimately decides that you have endured enough purgatory three days later.
And so, on Wednesday, we head to Lord’s, where another unwavering fixture of the British sports summer will start his own five-day farewell. James Anderson, like the three guys previously described, has never known when to give up, and he wouldn’t have any cause to if it weren’t for time passing. When asked if he was comfortable with the decision to pension him off after today, his 188th Test, especially after last week’s outstanding performance of 7 for 35 for Lancashire at Southport, he waved, “I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
However, as Anderson may recall from his own England debut, which took place on this same field 21 years and a few weeks ago, international sports must eventually revert to being a game for young men. Back then, even after taking 10 wickets in England’s previous Test match in Sydney in January 2003, it was Andrew Caddick who never again represented his country in cricket. The only real indicators of development become stagnation and dissatisfaction if opportunity never comes knocking for a new generation.
That’s not exactly where England are now following a tumultuous winter trip of India. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, however, find themselves in unusually urgent need of a series win following their 2-2 Ashes draw and a reckless share of the spoils in New Zealand in February. This is an odd situation for a team whose early success was largely attributable to their disregard for the end game.
This led to their changing of the guard, with Ben Foakes fired for failing to reach the high notes of aggressiveness required by the team culture, and Bazball’s initial pin-up, Jonny Bairstow, having to accept the reality of his diminishing returns. Twelve months and just one home Test later, Stuart Broad has also strolled off the stage, indicating that this England team’s future will almost certainly arrive before it has a chance to gather its thoughts.
How can the West Indies disrupt that future momentum? Probably more than a lot of other teams could manage. If England’s strategy has essentially consisted of an excessive amount of positive energy, they will be facing a squad that has demonstrated the capacity to improve their own performance when facing these specific opponents.
West Indies, the current Richards-Botham Trophy holders, have not lost a home series against England in twenty years and counting. They will have a fast-bowling unit that would make many of their Test opponents jealous, as well as a core of important senior campaigners, not the least of whom is the returning former captain Jason Holder, if the challenge in inclement English weather proves to be somewhat more difficult.
In any case, some players from the West Indies have stated that they plan to “ruin” Anderson’s goodbye, demonstrating that they are not letting the sentimentality of the event distract them from their goal. With a shaky outlook for the upcoming week, hopefully the weather doesn’t get there first. By the time he bowls his last over at Lord’s, there will be sufficient moisture in the air.
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