England captain Ben Stokes has no doubts over James Anderson keeping his place in an unchanged side for this week’s Ashes finale, hailing the veteran seamer as “the greatest fast bowler to play the game”.
The hosts are bidding to end the series all square at 2-2 in a fifth Test at The Oval starting Thursday, with Australia having already retained the Ashes at 2-1 up following last week’s rain-marred draw at Old Trafford.
Anderson, 41 on Sunday, has taken just four wickets in three matches this series at a costly average of 76.75 apiece.
But Anderson, whose 689 Test wickets are the most taken by any fast bowler, insisted in a recent newspaper column he has no intention of retiring any time soon and plans to continue an England career that already spans 20 years.
Stokes, with England having overlooked the claims of Ollie Robinson and rising star Josh Tongue, was more than happy to have Anderson in his side.
“James Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game and he’s still looking as good as he was two years ago,” said Stokes at The Oval on Wednesday.
“Although he’s not had the impact or the wickets he would have liked to in this series, he’s a quality bowler and quality performer. To have nearly 700 Test wickets is phenomenal, and to be able to do it all around the world as well.”
Stokes also paid tribute to Stuart Broad, Anderson’s longstanding new-ball colleague.
The Nottinghamshire seamer is the leading bowler in the Ashes with 18 wickets and is about to appear in his sixth Test in a row this season, having featured in the off-match against Ireland at Lord’s.
“At 37 years old it’s testament to the work and effort he puts in,” said Stokes.
“It’s amazing. It was always going to be hard for one bowler to play every game this series but he’s been incredible for us. He’s been very good at coming on with the ball and changing the game.”
Stokes admitted to feeling deflated following the Old Trafford washout, after England dominated the game, but insisted morale would not be an issue at The Oval.
“Leaving Manchester … I’ve never left a field, a game pretty emotionless. It was a bizarre feeling, the game petered out the way it did because of the weather.
“It was a pretty flat feeling but we’ve got rid of those emotions and we’re ready for this week.”
Much has been made this series of England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach to Test cricket. But Stokes insisted other teams didn’t have to follow England’s lead.
“It’s not fair of me to say that’s how every team should be playing or thinking about it,” he said. “Every team has their own way of operation, teams find a way that best suits the individuals they have in their team.”
“The cricket we play best suits the individuals we have in this team.”
As for the broader future of Test cricket, amid the growth of T20 franchise leagues, Stokes said: “Test cricket just needs to stay … I think there is a world where T20 and Test cricket can live side by side.
“T20 cricket has obviously helped Test cricket in terms of some of the play you see in the modern era, because without T20 you wouldn’t see some of the shots and the players coming through.”
England XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
© Agence France-Presse
