Former England captain Michael Vaughan stated that managing the bowling attack after James Anderson's retirement will be tough for the team in red-ball cricket.
Follow Us
Former England captain Michael Vaughan stated that managing the bowling attack after the retirement of James Anderson will be tough for the team in red-ball cricket. Vaughan has also added that it is a crucial challenge for Joe Root as England are looking forward to reviving the Test side after their rather forgettable Ashes series.
While Anderson at 39 performs on a constant basis in Test cricket, he is likely to call it quits soon as well. The right-arm pacer has been one of England’s key players for a long time and also a few bright spots in their ongoing Ashes series. However, James Anderson revealed that he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon as well.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan added that how England perform in Anderson’s absence, will determine their future too.
READ MORE: England hang on for dramatic draw in fourth Test match
He wrote: “Managing Jimmy’s retirement is going to be key to this team moving forward. His future is the big elephant in the room. England will find it hard without Jimmy, but in time, they will rebuild. It is not about sacking Jimmy. The right thing is to transition but to do it respectfully.”
He continued: “You can only do that by having strong conversations with Jimmy about what is going to happen. Just because you can still perform, does not mean you should keep going on and on.”
Meanwhile, the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney was James Anderson’s 169th cap. With this, he became the second-most capped player in Test cricket. He has 640 scalps in his name which came at 26.58, including 31 five-wicket hauls as well. Vaughan also opened up on England’s Test woes, saying that they need a pool of players with clearly-defined roles and responsibilities.
READ MORE: ‘It was a definite technical change’ – Ricky Ponting on how Mark Wood countered Marnus Labuschagne
The veteran wrote: “The Test team needs a group of players like the 2019 World Cup squad. By the time they reached that competition, they had a senior core who had played together for four years and knew their roles. That is the vision for the Test team. They should come back here with a senior group of players, which means a lot of people have to have played a lot of Tests over the next four years.”
“I can understand why people are calling for Joe to step down. He has made mistakes with selections and tactics but that is the least of my worries. Joe needs a bit of change in personnel to give him a few new voices to talk to and bring a different mindset and mentality to the group,” Michael Vaughan concluded.
