Ben Stokes announces James Anderson's participation in Ashes 2025 just after pacer's farewell Test

James Anderson retired from international cricket after England's win against West Indies at Lord's. He picked four wickets in his final Test match as he ended his career with 704 Test wickets, the most for any pacer.

He also finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan's 800 and Shane Warne's 708. Anderson picked up the wicket of Jayden Seals the last of the West Indies wickets in the first innings.

In the second innings, he picked up the wickets of Kraigg Brathwaite, Alick Athanaze, and keeper-batsman Joshua De Silva. He displayed some perfect inswing and outswing bowling even in his final Test match.

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There are reports that Anderson will stay with the squad for the remainder of the series and will help the bowlers learn the art of pace bowling. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes, the England Test captain has asked him to continue staying with the side as the bowling coach with the Ashes 2025 coming up and beyond that.

"Yeah, definitely. That’s why we’re asking him to stay around. If he’s got the desire to help bowlers progress like he did with his own career, honestly I can’t think of a better person to able to influence all the fast bowlers. I’m really excited to see how that goes,” said Stokes as quoted by Daily Mail when asked if Anderson can turn his role of mentor into a permanent role in the team with an eye on Ashes 2025.

Anderson, who finished his Test career with 704 wickets, has expressed his willingness to support the team in a mentoring capacity.

“I’m definitely not going to tell someone how to bowl. I’ll be a sounding board - I’ll be there if they need me. I’ll watch every ball they bowl and try to help them as much as I can" said Anderson replying to this query.

Making his Test debut back in 2003, Mark Vermeulen, the Zimbabwean batter was his first Test wicket. 21 years and 188 Test matches later Da Silva became his final Test wicket in what has been an enriching and enterprising career.

With Anderson’s guidance, England’s young fast bowlers could benefit immensely from the wisdom of one of the greatest seamers of all time. The role of fast bowling coach is currently occupied by Neil Killeen, though his involvement with the Test side has been limited. Anderson’s potential appointment could signal a significant change in the coaching setup for England’s pace attack.

Proud Of What We Have Achieved: James Anderson

Nasser Hussain, Anderson's first England captain asked him about his feelings immediately after he bowled his last over in international cricket.

"I'm still gutted that I dropped that catch, to be honest, but it's been an amazing week and I have been quite overwhelmed with the reaction of the crowd," said Anderson in response to Nasser Hussain.

The win at Lord's meant that England bagged some crucial points. They are still placed last on the table with 33 points from 11 Test matches with four wins and six losses. Currently, they have a PCT of 25. They found this win on the back of four consecutive losses against India earlier this year.

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