I was just shocked: James Anderson opens up about forced retirement

Former England cricketer James Anderson is widely regarded as one of the most astonishing bowlers in Test history. James played a total of 188 test matches for England during his career and took 704 wickets. Jimmy ranks third in the list of most wickets in test history. The England legend retired from international cricket on July 12, 2024, at the Lord’s cricket ground. He played his last test match against West Indies. Anderson is England’s all-time leading wicket taker and has had several notable performances for the team. 

However, Jimmy recently made a big revelation about how he was told by the coach, Brendon McCullum and captain, Ben Stokes, that they were planning to move on from him. While talking with The Guardian, Jimmy said,

Jimmy stated that he didn’t get angry but rather felt shocked. The 42-year-old believes that he would have carried on for as long as his body let him. “Maybe I needed that nudge to say now’s a good time to finish," said Anderson. 

The good thing was that his return to the England camp as their bowling coach helped him to cope with life after bowling. Anderson revealed that if bowling had been completely cut out of his life, he would not have coped well. The England team wanted him to stay in the group and he still has the dressing-room environment. He still sees all his mates everyday and has an impact on the test matches, which has helped him a lot.

Anderson further stated that he is learning about new aspects of his personality while coaching and finds it very exciting about learning a different role and finding out about himself.