Joe Root paid tribute to England’s “greatest bowler ever” in James Anderson, as Ben Stokes’ men prepare for a new era without the legendary seamer.
Only Stuart Broad (138) and Alastair Cook (130) have played more matches with Anderson than Root (110), with the former Test captain effusive in his praise of the legendary seamer’s achievements and the send-off he received across the week at the home of cricket in St John’s Wood.
“It’s been an incredible tribute, hasn’t it?” Root said. “The fact we only had an hour’s play and we got a full house at Lord’s just shows the impact that Jimmy’s career has had on so many people.
“These days, they’re few and far between. You don't get the opportunity to celebrate such a wonderful career and someone that's done things in the game that no one else has done before. I think it's something that we’ll look back at and treasure. For me, all I've ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that's been for 12 years.”
While Anderson is hanging up the bowling boots, he will remain with the England squad for the rest of the summer in a mentorship role, as Ben Stokes’ team go through a period of regeneration as they build towards the Ashes next year.
“You can’t buy that experience, can you?” Root said of Anderson’s continued involvement over the summer. “No fast bowlers played that amount of Test matches, taken that amount of wickets. So for young guys coming in, someone like Gus [Atkinson] coming in, the likes of Dillon Pennington and Matt Potts, to be in this squad and have that amount of knowledge to bounce off, it’s invaluable really. I'm sure for them, you couldn't ask for any more really.”
To replace Anderson is an impossible task, but Atkinson went as close as you could hope to do so, claiming the second-best match figures by an England debutant in history: 12-106.
Atkinson was an unused squad member in India earlier this year and has made his white-ball debuts in both T20 and ODI cricket in the last 12 months. With England having one-eye on the future, Atkinson’s pick has as much to do with what England believe he can bring to Australia next year as it does with what he was expected to bring to the team now.
“We lost our greatest ever bowler,” Root said. “But for someone to come in and do that, that shows a lot about where we are as a team as well.
“When teams have gone out [to Australia] what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl at the late 80s and early 90s and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace. It was great to see him come in and do that on such a slow wicket here.
“We've seen it in spurts in county cricket, and in practice, you can see what talent he has, what ability he's got. For him to just transfer that straight away onto this stage, take advantage of some bowler friendly conditions and back it up in the second innings as well – everyone can have their day if you know what I mean, but to then be able to back it up and follow up a brilliant performance in the first innings with that in the second innings is just fantastic to see. I think the future does look very bright in the bowling department.”
The second Test against the West Indies begins on Thursday in Nottingham, with Root emphasising that despite the scale of victory in the first match, an innings and 114 runs, England won’t be taking their opponents lightly.
“You only have to look back to January and see what they’re capable of doing,” Root said, referring to the West Indies' shock victory against Australia. “We won’t underestimate them, we know what talent they’ve got and it shows how well we played.
“They’ve got some real quality, especially in the bowling attack. We've not seen what they're capable of with the bat yet, and we won't be taking that for granted and taking that lightly.”
