'It’s a great headache to have' - Chris Silverwood reacts on the future of James Anderson

Jimmy Anderson- The world’s leading Test wicket-taker of all-time among pacers, has come to take that stage in his career. The great fast bowler has been grappling with injury issues; one that forced him to miss the entirety of the Ashes 2019 after he hobbled off the ground during the opening day at Edgbaston.

However, Anderson isn’t one of those to throw in the towel just yet. The English spearhead, in a bid to prove his fitness for winter Test tour of South Africa, has withdrawn his name from the upcoming Test series against New Zealand and is set to train at Manchester United’s Etihad campus for the next two months.

Chris Silverwood weighs in

The winds of change are blowing in the English camp with Silverwood taking over the coaching duties from Trevor Bayliss. While succession planning is high on the agenda of Silverwood, the former Essex coach admitted in a chat with Sky Sports that both Anderson and Stuart Broad are automatic selections provided they are injury-free while also admitting the fact that they’ll have to look into the future at some point.

“If they’re both fit, it’s difficult to look past them, isn’t it? It’s a great headache to have. When you look at the number of wickets they’ve got between them it’s phenomenal. Jimmy’s great. He takes wickets, he’s got a lot of knowledge in there that he can share with the players coming in,” Chris Silverwood said in a Q&A session to Sky Sports. 

“I think it will be up to him to let us know, and I think he will when he’s had enough, but who wouldn’t want a world-class bowler like him in the line-up? He is phenomenal. He gets wickets all around the world. So yes I want him around as long as I can, but equally, we’ve got to be realistic and say ‘right, we’ve got to do some future planning here. We’ve got to sit down and make sure we’ve got depth so when guys do retire we’ve got people coming through who can take their places,” Silverwood said as quoted by Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, Chris Silverwood’s first test as an English coach starts with a tough tour to NZ, starting from November 01, where they’ll play five T20I followed by two Tests. The two-match Test series is not a part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship.

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