New Delhi: Former England captain Andrew Strauss has asked for veteran England speedster James Anderson to be conferred with knighthood following his retirement from international cricket this week.
Anderson is all set for swansong in the whites as England take on the West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s on Wednesday (July 10). With 187 appearances and 700 Test scalps, the 41-year-old pacer will undisputedly sit on the pole position in the annals of England’s cricket history besides leaving indelible impression for the upcoming lot.
Strauss, who captained Anderson in 42 Tests from 2009 to 2012, is of the opinion that the Lancashire pacer deserved a knighthood, which means he would be called as ‘Sir James Anderson’.
“Very much so! I think any fast bowler that plays 188 Test matches deserves a knighthood, I’ll put it that way,” Strauss was quoted as saying ESPNcricnfo.
“Next Ashes is too far away James Anderson” – Andrew Strauss
Anderson wanted to carry for a few more years but the England team management conveyed their decision to look beyond him with their one eye on the 2024-25 Ashes tour of Australia. Strauss backed Stokes and McCullum’s tough call and said that Anderson is too far away for the next Ashes series.
“I think 18 games until the next Ashes. And at some stage you’ve got to juggle the needs for the future with the needs for the present. So I can understand why they’ve chosen this as the right time to do that,” the 47-year-old Strauss said.
“One thing we know for sure is that to win in Australia, or to win any test match or any Test series, it all comes down to the quality and variety of your bowling attack. And so, to me, the next Ashes is too far away for Jimmy,” he added.
James Anderson is nine wickets shy from surpassing late Shane Warne’s tally of 708 Test wickets. It will be a herculean task for the England talisman to achieve the feat in the first Test against Kraigg Brathwaite & Co.
James Anderson is all set for swansong in the whites as England take on the West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s on Wednesday (July 10). Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
