James Anderson and Ben Stokes
James Anderson and Ben Stokes. Image Credits: Twitter

The 40-year-old England National Cricket Team right-arm pacer James Anderson has credited the red-ball skipper Ben Stokes for reviving his international career.

Anderson, who is regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in the history of Test cricket, has bagged 675 wickets in the purest format of the game and he is still going strong. He was dropped from the team for a brief period at the end of Joe Root’s tenure as skipper, but the new captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum brought back Anderson into the setup alongside Stuart Broad.

IPL 2023 | New Zealand tour of India 2023 | Dream11 Prediction | Fantasy Cricket Tips | Cricket Match Prediction Today | Cricket News | Cricket Live Score | Australia tour of India 2023

Joe Root, Ben Stokes
Joe Root, Ben Stokes. (Photo: Twitter)

Speaking to SkySports, James Anderson said that being part of the current Test setup of England is exciting.

“It’s exciting to be in this team. Whoever we play it’s going to be fun, we’re going to give it a good crack and Australia in the summer could just be incredible,” Anderson told SkySports.

IPL 2023 | India National Cricket Team | IND vs NZ 2023 | India vs New Zealand 2023 | IND vs AUS 2023 | India vs Australia 2023

“I can’t see them doing anything but going toe-to-toe to be honest. I think they’re going to fight fire with fire and that’s going to make it so explosive and exciting.”

Anderson further showered ultimate praise on the Test captain Stokes.

“I’ve always had him down as a lead-by-example guy. But he is just incredible, the emotional intelligence around the group, managing the players. I didn’t know he had this side to him,” Anderson further added.

There was definitely a moment when I thought that could be it – James Anderson

James Anderson
James Anderson. Pic Credits: Twitter.

The veteran pacer further said that he was extremely disappointed after being left out of the squad for the West Indies tour last year and at a moment he even thought about his retirement.

“There was definitely a moment when I thought that could be it [for my England career]. There was a bit of anger and disappointment [at being left out of the tour to the West Indies],” Anderson said.

“I was just trying to make sense of it and not make any rash decisions,” the fast bowler further added.

Anderson also talked about England’s Bazball approach, which points to the aggressive and entertaining brand of cricket England are playing in Test cricket.

“There is something wrong with you as a player if you didn’t enjoy this way we’re playing. It’s constantly thinking and talking about the game in a positive way so, yes, it has reinvigorated me,” the bowler concluded.

Also Read: “Making Ridiculous Comments Won’t Help” – Mumbai Selector Milind Rege Lashes Out At Sarfaraz Khan For His Non-selection Remarks

Read More  Even after being torn apart, Hardik Pandya equals Rohit Sharma's mammoth record in IPL

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah

 

Sonanchal Gautam is the Assistant Content Manager at Cricketaddictor. He is a professional Wrestling and Hip-hop enthusiast.