James Anderson set for new role with England after Test retirement

LONDON (Agencies): Experienced pacer James Anderson is set to join England’s coaching set-up as the fast-bowling mentor, following his retirement from Test cricket next week.

41-year-old Anderson will play his last Test match against West Indies at the iconic Lord’s, the same venue where he made his debut 21 years ago against Zimbabwe.

Anderson is the only pacer in history to take more than 700 Test wickets. He achieved the milestone during England’s fifth away Test against India, in March this year.

He is also the third in the list of players with the most Test wickets, only behind spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) of Sri Lanka and the late Shane Warne (708 wickets) of Australia.

England managing director Rob Key acknowledged James Anderson “got so much to offer” and thus offered him the role to serve as the mentor for the young pacers.

“He’s got so much to offer English cricket. We don’t want to see that go.

“When we asked him, he was keen. He is going to have a lot of options. English cricket would be very lucky if he chooses to stay in the game.”

For the unversed, James Anderson is currently representing Lancashire in the ongoing County Championship.

The pacer is yet to decide regarding his future with the County side but Rob Key confirmed that he will remain with the England team till the summer.

“What he does with Lancashire will probably work out after the Lord’s Test,” said Key.

“We’ve got some conversations to have after to find out what he thinks is the best thing to do. Everything so far has been him gearing up for this Test match,” Key concluded.