Jimmy Anderson’s transition from attacking leader to bowling mentor is in line with the need for pace in next year’s Ashes, according to Joe Root.
Anderson, who turns 42 later this month, swaps the ‘best job in the world’ for what will hopefully be the second when England’s Rothesay Test series against the West Indies resumes in Nottingham on Thursday.
England, meanwhile, are looking to field several fast bowlers with extra pace during the 17 Tests up until and including the attempts to wrest the ball from the Australians’ hands. Gus Atkinson, who has just produced the best performance by an English debutant since 1890, has been joined in the 14-man squad for Trent Bridge by Mark Wood.
“As a player you always look forward to these series, they are the series you work towards,” said Root.
‘Look at what we’ve done on previous tours in Australia and what we think we can be successful with under those circumstances.
Joe Root (left) called Jimmy Anderson ‘indispensable’ after he pledged to advise England’s next generation
Legendary bowler Anderson has retired but will help England prepare for next year’s Ashes
“When teams have gone there, they need someone like Gus in those conditions who can bowl in the late 80s and early 90s (in miles per hour) and still move the ball and make things happen at a high pace. It was great to see him come in and do that on such a slow wicket here.”
On the previous 2021-22 Ashes tour, which Root described as simply “about keeping things going”, Wood was the only member of the attacking side in the top five wicket-takers of the series. However, the emergence of Surrey’s Atkinson, who began his Test career with match figures of 12 for 106, and the possibility of adding Jofra Archer to the mix after a diet of white-ball cricket in 2024, offer a markedly different dynamic.
‘Gus has been around for a while, both in white and red ball and on a couple of tours, and it’s been great to see him come in. We’ve seen it in bursts in county cricket, and in practice you can see the talent he has, the ability he has,’ Root continued.
‘It was fantastic to see how he was able to bring that straight away to this stage, how he took advantage of the favourable conditions for the bowlers and did that in the second innings as well.
“The future looks very bright in bowling. We lost our best bowler ever, but for someone to do that says a lot about where we are as a team.”
Anderson will be on hand over the coming days to advise a group that also includes Durham newcomer Matthew Potts and the as-yet-unknown Nottinghamshire forward Dillon Pennington, alongside long-serving Chris Woakes.
The shadow cast by England’s doyen of fast bowling will be great for some, but Root made the case for the benefits when he said: “You can’t buy that experience, can you? No fast bowler has played so many Test matches, taken so many wickets.
England next face West Indies in the second Rothesay Test in Nottingham on Thursday
Players like Dillion Pennington, who has never been capped before, will benefit from Anderson’s guidance
“To have that much knowledge to fall back on is really invaluable. To have that in the palm of your hand and learn from it is great at the start of your testing career.”
Root, 33, is more at the other end of that spectrum, although England’s most active player – following the retirements of Anderson and Stuart Broad within 12 months – dismissed the possibility of him joining soon. He said: ‘I think I’ll be playing for a while yet.’
Back to the present: he warned against complacency after England took a 1-0 lead at Lord’s, pointing to West Indies’ standout performance at the start of 2024.
“You only have to look back to January and what they did in Australia in Brisbane, a place where it is so difficult to win a Test match,” Root said.
‘We will not underestimate them, we know what talent they have.’
