'It's sad to see...' - Joe Root on Brendon McCullum, Ben Stokes forcing James Anderson into retirement

James Anderson called time on his international career after the first Test against West Indies. He ended his career with 704 wickets with his final four wickets coming in his farewell Test match.

Anderson ended his career as the most decorated Test bowler and the third-highest wicket-taker in history with 704 scalps. Only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warner are above him in this count.

Joe Root, the former England skipper has seen Anderson's career unfold in front of his eyes and has played alongside him throughout his career. Even after his retirement, the two best friends will be a part of the England team as Anderson will join the team as a mentor ahead of the next Test match in Trent Bridge.

Also Read: "Playing against Virat Kohli in early days"- James Anderson relives rivalry with former Indian skipper

Weird One: Joe Root On James Anderson's Retirement

"For me, all I've ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that's been for 12 years. It's a bit of a weird one, seeing Stuart [Broad] go last year and [now] Jimmy. I'll terribly miss playing alongside him, but the fact that he'll be around for the summer will be great for the young bowlers coming through and for us to keep using that experience and everything else he has to offer the dressing room. I'm really pleased that he's been able to have the send-off that he deserves but also, it's in some ways, a little bit sad to see him go," Root said.

Questions on his retirement was thrown at him in the post-match press conference as well. However, he denied retiring from cricket any sooner.

"Oh here we go," he answered dismissively when asked if he had thought about his own curtain call. "Not at the minute. I'd like to think I'll be playing for a good while yet. And when that day comes, I'm sure I'll figure something out. You've got to earn the right to have that sort of fairytale ending, like the likes of Jimmy, Stuart, Cookie [at the Oval in 2018] have had. My focus purely is on scoring as many runs for this team as I can and helping us win as many games as we can," said Root.

"Until that focus changes and until that drive changes, then I'll continue to solely focus on that and we'll worry about that hopefully a long way down the road" he further added.

His closing statement was on Gus Atkinson and his performance in his debut Test match. He picked up 12 wickets to start off his Test career and the most memorable not possible. He moved the ball both ways and caused all kinds of problems to the Windies batters. Root sees Atkinson as a great asset ahead of the next Ashes series in 2025.

"When teams have gone out there what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl at the late 80s and early 90s [mph] 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," said Root on the young pacer.

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