James Anderson is pumped up for “amazing” Ashes; Aims to keep going till next Ashes tour down under
The evergreen and self-renewing James Anderson is looking forward to an exciting English summer when England will host Australia for the ultimate Ashes series.
With 177 Test appearances, Anderson ranks second all-time after India’s Sachin Tendulkar, but at age 40, he is still considering the difficulties ahead rather than dwelling on the good times.
Both newcomers and seasoned players have been energised by England’s new aggressive strategy, and Anderson believes that when Australia visits later this year, the series will be explosive.
When asked about the upcoming Ashes tour, Jimmy remarked that
”Being a part of this team is exciting. Regardless of who we play, it will be enjoyable, we’ll give it our best shot, and Australia in the summer might be great,”
The legacy of the Ashes is being passed on from generations to generations. When the current rejuvenated England in the MacCallum-Stokes era and the ever-consistent Australia lock horns for the urn, the series is expected to be a blast as both teams will compete fire with fire with an aggressive style of play from both ends.
Anderson enjoying his game in the Stokes-MacCallum era
Jimmy Anderson was all in praise for captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon MacCallum for transforming the English test side with a brand-new approach and thus eliminating the fear of failure factor.
Regarding this, the 40-year-old shared an incident and praised Stokes’ courage and leadership, pointing to the captain’s insistence that a worn-out bowling group be excused from a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following a last-minute invitation in Rawalpindi last month.
Under the leadership of Stokes and MacCallum, England have been invincible is tests winning their last 9 tests out of 10 which included a 3-0 whitewash away from home in the historic Pakistan tour.
However, it is important to note that Anderson, meanwhile, had been unexpectedly dropped along with Stuart Broad for the last tour of the West Indies, and he might have easily left before Stokes’ revolution even got started.
He shared his views on this incident
“There was undoubtedly a time when I believed that might be it. There was a little bit of disappointment and rage. I also talked to Broady a lot at that time. There was a little bit of disappointment and rage. Is that all—that not understanding? Thankfully, we both decided to start the season with our counties to see whether we still had the appetite for it, which we both did”
Anderson throws light on his future
When asked how long he planned to continue playing, the 40-year-old mentioned the Australia Ashes tour in 2025–2026.
“I think clearly the way to do it is to not look too far ahead. You know what, I’ll give Australia another shot in Australia, that seems far away right now. However, if I simply take care of myself, try to bowl effectively, and try to take wickets, then it could gradually happen and I would believe all of a sudden that there is a possibility for another trip down under. I’ll be 42 at that time so lets see how things turn up”
2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK
First Test: Friday June 16-Tuesday June 20, Edgbaston
Second Test: Wednesday June 28-Sunday July 2, Lord’s
Third Test: Thursday July 6-Monday July 10, Headingley
FourthTest: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford
FifthTest: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval
