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England men's managing director, Rob Key, confirmed that the ageless pacer James Anderson will continue to be a part of their set-up by taking up the mentor's role.
The 41-year-old in May took the world by surprise by announcing that England's first Test against West Indies would be the last of his illustrious international career. After his announcement, all eyes are on The Lord's Test, which will be played on July 10. It will mark the one final time that he would don the Test colours and appear on the field. But Key confirmed that it won't be the last that fans would see of Anderson as he will stay with the squad for the rest of the summer as a mentor. "Jimmy will continue in our set-up, and he'll help as a bit more of a mentor. We're trying to set up an elite coach development programme, which Jimmy wants to do, but we'll have a look at the end of the summer," Key said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. "It might be something that he doesn't enjoy, or it might be something that he absolutely loves. But he's got so much to offer English cricket, so we don't want to see that go. But it is going to be quite an occasion with him bowing out at Lord's," he added. The seasoned pacer has dominated red-ball cricket with his mastery in swing as well as reverse swing. He made his debut in the Test format against Zimbabwe at The Lord's, and he will bid farewell to fans as a player at the same venue. His 6/17 against Pakistan in the first Test in 2010 at Trent Bridge still echoes the prowess of his remarkable career. He left Pakistan batters Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali and many more players speechless. In 187 Tests, Anderson has taken 700 wickets at an average of 26.52, with the best bowling figures of 7/42. He has also taken 269 wickets in 194 ODIs for England and 18 wickets in 19 T20Is. (ANI)
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