Former fast bowler Stuart Broad expressed concerns about the challenges England’s inexperienced bowling attack may face following star pacer James Anderson‘s retirement announcement.
Anderson, England’s highest wicket-taker among pace bowlers in Test cricket, revealed his decision to retire after the first match against West Indies at Lord’s in July.
His final red-ball game for England will be in July, marking his 188th Test match. Broad mentioned potential alternatives like Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Gus Atkinson, but he worries about the bowling options without Ben Stokes.
Despite acknowledging the talent, Broad believes the future may present a tough initiation for England’s bowlers.
“I think exposure for some bowlers now is really important, because there’s talent out there. You’ve got the likes of Matthew Potts who has done well in Test cricket and on a Lions tour, Gus Atkinson has loads of great attributes, Josh Tongue who struggled a bit with injuries over the winter but bowled great against Ireland and Australia,” Broad said as quoted by Sky Sports.
“Brydon Carse up at Durham has shown some good potential and has attributes to play Test match cricket – quick, tall and can certainly bat as well. Jamie Overton has struggled with injuries but shown promise as well,” he added.
“England could easily go into a Test match this summer with a very, very inexperienced bowling group. If you don’t play a (Chris) Woakes, Mark Wood has a rest and there’s no Jimmy Anderson, you could have three seamers and a spinner out there potentially with 20 caps between them.”
“That’s quite scary as a Test captain I would have thought. We don’t know how much (Ben) Stokes’ going to bowl – we hope he does,” he added.
James Anderson will retire from Tests after the first match against West Indies at Lord’s in July
At the age of 41, Anderson has enjoyed a career spanning over two decades in Test cricket, establishing himself as one of the format’s premier bowlers. He made his Test debut at Lord’s in 2003 and has amassed 700 wickets in 187 matches, solidifying his status as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game.
Not having either of them available to spearhead the bowling attack in the future could pose problems, and Broad reiterated his apprehension about the gap that Anderson’s departure will leave.
“There’s going to certainly be a huge hole left by Jimmy Anderson that someone is going to have to step into. And not just by swinging the new ball.”
“But by communicating, by keeping calm if the boundaries are leaking, by tactically being aware of what field works at certain grounds, pitches and times of Test matches. Ultimately, you don’t learn that unless you’re thrown in,” he added.
Broad characterizes his primary attribute as the eagerness to develop and adjust his own game.
“My thing was always continuous improvement. Jimmy’s has always been that as well, and we drove each other forward a lot with that mindset.”
“Working on different things in the nets, run-ups – I think Jimmy worked on a new run-up at 41 – I certainly changed mine in 2019 and I was 33/34. We always had that mindset you had to keep improving,” he added.
“That was probably why he played that much. If we didn’t have that mindset, we might have played 20 Tests and then been found out,” he added.
England will welcome West Indies for a three-match ICC World Test Championship series in July, commencing with the first Test at Lord’s.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
