London: James Anderson hopes future players will relish challenge of Test cricket rather than just go “chasing the dollar” as he prepares to drop out of the five-day series against the West Indies.
The landscape of cricket has changed radically since Anderson, 41, made his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003.
Cricketers no longer need to establish themselves at Test level to enjoy a successful career. With the advent of lucrative Twenty20 franchise tournaments, especially the Indian Premier League, they can make a lot more money with a lot less work.
“It’s taught me so many lessons over the years, it’s built my resilience to a lot of things. I think the fulfillment you get from being in one-day cricket is unlike anything else you can do in the game.”
He is now third on the all-time wicket-taking list behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia’s Shane Warne, both spinners.
“I just hope there are enough kids and young professionals out there who want it to be that way rather than chasing the dollar.”
Anderson has effectively been forced out of Test retirement by England chiefs looking to rebuild ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia.
While accepting his career had to “end at some point”, Anderson insists he “bowls as well as I do”.
Asked if he could have played on, he added: “It’s hard to say. I don’t really have a choice.”
Signs of a new-look England side will be on display at Lord’s after the hosts named their squad two days before the three-match series begins.
Third-tier England have played an entertaining, attacking brand of cricket in the last two years under captain Ben Stokes, but have won just four of their last 11 Tests.
West Indies, ranked eighth in the world, are a shadow of the team that dominated global cricket in the 1980s but caused a stir in January when they beat Australia by eight runs in Brisbane.
Former West Indies captain Jason Holder, who decided to return to Test cricket after missing this tour, said: “I was so happy for the boys when they did what they did in Australia.
“It gave me new energy to come back to the group and try to be part of something special again.”
Anderson urges next generation to embrace Test cricket as exit looms
