“I wasn’t angry, but my wife probably still is” - James Anderson reveals international retirement wasn’t in his head

Former England seamer James Anderson has revealed that the international retirement wasn’t in his head, but upon insistence from the head coach Brendon McCullum, captain Ben Stokes, and ECB Managing Director Rob Key, the seamer had to call it quits from the game.

Notably, Anderson announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s in July 2024. The pacer asserted that he understood the team management’s point of view, but his wife is still angry and has not come to terms yet.

“I’ll be honest, retirement was not in my head. I was still bowling as well as I ever had, and my body was in good shape. I was looking forward to the Ashes. All sport needs young people coming onto the scene, but you have to balance that with age and experience. It’s difficult. I’d been told that as long as I was good enough to warrant a place in the team, and fit enough, they’d keep picking me… but then they changed their mind. I did see their point. I wasn’t angry, though my wife was; probably still is. But then she’s always been my biggest supporter, my biggest help throughout my career,” Anderson told The Times.

Also, the English pacer, who pocketed 704 wickets in 188 Tests and currently stands at the third spot in leading wicket-takers in Tests behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, added that the team wanted to move in a different direction and bring in some young talent ahead of the Ashes 2025.

“I retired from international cricket last year, but not entirely willingly. I had a meeting with the captain, coach and director of the England cricket team in April, and they said they wanted to move in a different direction, and bring in some younger guys ahead of the Ashes. They kept me on in a team coach/mentor capacity, but I felt I still had an itch to scratch, and more cricket to play while my body was still able to. So I spoke to Lancashire and they got me on board,” he added.

After his international retirement, Anderson was roped in as the team mentor for a few international tours. He has been part of the Lancashire set-up in the County Championship and T20 Blast.

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