I Have Performed At My Best Under Joe Root's Captaincy - James Anderson

Senior England pace bowler James Anderson thanked outgoing England Test skipper Joe Root for encouraging him personally during his tenure.

On April 15, Root relinquished the England Test captaincy role after back to back overseas defeats in Australia (early in January) and West Indies (in March).

Joe Root ended as England’s most-capped Test skipper

Root took over the reins from Sir Alastair Cook in February 2017 and ended up as England’s most-capped Test captain, he led England in 64 Test matches having won 27 and losing 26 while 11 games resulted in a draw.

Under Root, England won the Test series in South Africa 2-1 in early 2020. England also beat South Africa (2017), West Indies (2017 & 2020), India (2018), and Pakistan (2020) in Test series at home in Root’s tenure as red-ball skipper. England squared the 2019 Ashes series 2-2 against Australia.

Joe Root is someone who’s been very encouraging to me about carrying on playing: James Anderson

Since Root took over the charge of the red-ball side, Anderson snapped 170 of 640 Test scalps in 46 games under the captaincy of the Yorkshire player. The 39-year-old acknowledged Root’s contribution in turning him into a better bowler.

“I thanked him because I think it’s not a coincidence that statistically my best years as a bowler have been under his captaincy.

“A lot is said about myself and Stuart under his captaincy, there’s been a lot talked about in that respect, but for me, I think I have performed at my best under his captaincy,” Anderson said on BBC’s Tailenders podcast. 

“I thanked him as well for his support throughout the last few years. He’s someone who’s been very encouraging to me about carrying on playing. He wanted to get the most out of me as a bowler.

“He rested me at times to try and make sure I could just keep going for as long as I possibly could. So there’s a lot of mutual respect there and for me, he’s always been a really good mate as well,” he added. 

Anderson was dropped along with his bowling partner Stuart Broad from the England Test squad for the West Indies Test series.

Also Read: James Anderson Still Struggling To Understand His England Omission