ENG vs IND 2018: There's No Reason Why James Anderson Can't Go On For Three Or Four Years: Trevor Bayliss

England head coach Trevor Bayliss is confident James Anderson still has a lot of cricket left in him after the pacer’s sensational performance in the second England vs India Test.

Anderson proved his critics wrong with a stunning performance at Lord’s. The 36-year old made the most of helpful conditions with a match haul of 9-43 as England thrashed India by an innings and 159 runs. He picked up 5 for 20 to help England bowl India out for just 107. In the second innings, he took 4 as England wrapped up the Indian innings for just 130 to register a thumping win.

The 5-20 in the first innings was his 26th Test five-wicket haul while his 9-43 are his best-match figures at Lord’s. The first wicket of the second innings took him to 100 at Lord’s, making him only the second bowler to take a hundred wickets at a venue, after Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Anderson took 23 Test matches to reach the landmark and has a career-best of 7/42 at the Home of Cricket. He also has also taken six five-wicket hauls at Lord’s. Anderson now has the most number of wickets in an India-England series with 96 scalps to his name. India’s Bhagwat Chandrasekhar is second with 95 and he is followed by Anil Kumble (92), Bishan Singh Bedi (85) and Kapil Dev (85).

The latest performance has pretty much put the talk of Anderson being less effective due to his age on the bed. In fact, Bayliss is of the opinion that Anderson could play for three-four more years.

“He’s fit and keeps himself fit. As long as he keeps his body fit there’s no reason why he can’t go on for three or four years. He’s not just good when the conditions suit him, but in these conditions he’s the best in the world. It’s a test for any batsman in the world to try to face him in these conditions.”

“He keeps surprising everyone. At the moment, the last 12-18 months, he has had a shoulder problem, but at the moment he seems to have got over that pretty well and he just bowls and bowls and bowls. Hopefully that continues for a few years yet,” he said.

The spell, meanwhile, helped Anderson become the first England bowler in 38 years, and only the seventh overall from his country, to breach 900-mark in the ICC Test Bowlers’ rankings. The last man before Anderson to achieve this feat was Ian Botham in August 1980. Anderson is currently on 903 points and is leading the rankings.

Bayliss further admitted that when he took the head coach role back in May 2015 that finding Anderson’s successor was high on the agenda. Even he has been surprised by Anderson’s longevity.

“When a player gets closer to the end of his career than the start of it, there’s always that thought process and looking for who might be that guy that takes over. Is it a Chris Woakes, is it a Ben Stokes, is it someone else new and younger coming through. That process never stops.

“If you compare him (Anderson) with other bowlers around the world, yeah. A lot of other bowlers do start to drop off mid-thirties or so. It’s only the very, very best that are able to keep it going. I think he’s showing that he is the very, very best.”