‘It’s one of those things that was out of my hands’ – James Anderson on his retirement from Test cricket

The retirement of former legendary England pacer James Anderson marked the end of another beautiful era of international cricket. The 42-year-old fast bowler retired last season on 10 July, after the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's. Anderson recently opened up about his retirement from the game in an interview.

The Lancashire-based legend shared some interesting details about what led to his retirement, saying he was nowhere near retirement in his mind. The pace-bowling maestro revealed that the management had decided to move on from him and expressed disappointment at the decision taken by those behind the scenes, claiming that he still had 12–18 months of Test cricket left in him.

“I’m still a bit mixed on it. It’s one of those things that was out of my hands. They made the decision to move away from having me in the team. That was pretty gutting at the time. I’d been preparing before my last Test match for the next six, 12, 18 months of Test cricket,” Anderson was quoted as saying by The Independent.

“I wasn’t anywhere near retirement in my head. I felt I still had that want and hunger to play, to do the hard yards, the training, the skill work,” the 2010 T20 World Cup winner further added.

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Furthermore, James Anderson mentioned that becoming the team’s bowling mentor immediately after retiring made a huge impact on his career. The 'Burnley Express' revealed he was happy to be part of the dressing room even after his playing days had ended. The England stalwart also spoke about how overwhelmed he was by the crowd's reaction during the final day of the Test series against the West Indies.

“If I’d just left the team after that West Indies Test match, it would have been more difficult for me to make sense of everything and deal with the fact that that was the end. To stay around the team and still be in the dressing room, still trying to have an impact on Test matches, I think that was good for me,” the former England legend continued.

“The reaction was above and beyond anything I’d ever expected. That last day against the West Indies: I think it was just an hour or so on that last morning, but the ground was full. It was amazing to see a sea of people there,” Anderson concluded.