James Anderson admits he seriously considered retirement after West Indies axe

James Anderson is set to be recalled by England this summer, having been dropped along with Stuart Broad following their 4-0 defeat by Australia in the Ashes this winter

James Anderson seriously considered quitting cricket after being axed by England for the tour of the West Indies.

The 39-year-old was even left wondering whether it was something he had done wrong in the dressing room that led to the decision to leave him and Stuart Broad at home for the March tour. Anderson mulled things over with his family before arriving at the conclusion that he still wanted to keep going this season with or without Test cricket and with so many other England bowlers struggling with injuries, thank goodness he did.

“I definitely questioned it,” said Anderson. “I asked myself, ‘do I want to carry on?’ And you do start questioning other things when something like that happens. Is it something that I’ve done around the group?

“That is the one thing you start thinking about, but with the cricket I’m pretty confident that I’m doing ok.

“I think the longer time went on the more I just wanted to play. I talked it through with my family and they saw it as I did.

“I’ve still got more to give the game whether it is Lancs or England. I’ve still got the ability to take wickets and I want to still do that.

“It’s been so much fun and I’m really enjoying playing cricket at the minute.” And why wouldn’t he after a week in which he cleaned bowled the best batsman in the world right now?

The fact that said batsman was Joe Root playing for Yorkshire in a Roses clash at Headingley as Anderson was busy pushing for victory for Lancashire was simply a bonus. Root was England captain in the Caribbean, but Anderson wasn’t holding anything against him, and nor did he rub it in after splaying Root’s stumps.

“Absolutely not,” said Anderson at an LV= event in Leicester to support 4,000 grassroots coaches through the #Funds4Runs initiative. “I didn’t need to say anything to Joe. Just had to pick the two stumps off the floor.

“I’ve watched the video a few times, because it was a good ball. A bit of reverse swing I think. Joe had got 140 in the first innings, so we know how good he is.

“We talked during the game. We haven’t fallen out or anything. We chatted and I spoke to him before he announced he was stepping down.

“There is still a huge amount of respect between the two of us.” That respect is clearly there when Anderson is asked about England’s new captain Ben Stokes and new head coach Brendon McCullum who he hopes will be a “match made in heaven”.

Although he is confident the Test team won’t just become an extended version of a white ball team. “McCullum will bring fresh ideas and energy to that group,” he added.

“Ben will do the same with his captaincy, he’s a very energetic bloke, passionate about English cricket, and he’s just a born leader. He reads the situation really well.

“He can bat out for a draw if he needs to, he can soak up pressure if he needs to. It’s going to be a sensible approach. Hopefully from English cricket’s point of view it’s a match made in heaven.”

James Anderson surprised Leicester Electricity Sports Cricket Club during a game organised by Test partners LV= Insurance. The club will receive support to train a new coach and relaunch their women’s team as part of LV= and the ECB’s commitment to support 4,000 coaches through their #Funds4Runs community initiative. Visit https://www.lv.com/gi/cricket-funds4runs for more information