England's managing director admits 90-minute meeting at
Manchester hotel, saying Anderson 'wasn't expecting it.'
Last month, Rob Key, Brendon McCullum, and Ben Stokes told James Anderson that
it was "time to move on" at a 90-minute discussion at a Manchester
hotel. Anderson stated on Saturday that he will retire from international
cricket following England's first Test against the West Indies in July, and Key
has now revealed how the team management came to the decision that his time was
up.
Key, the managing director of England's men's teams, interacts with players regularly for reviews and advised Anderson that they meet in person. "When
we made the decision and we thought, 'OK, we need to go and meet Jimmy and
discuss the future', Brendon came to the conclusion that the right thing to do
was to fly over to England [from New Zealand]," Key disclosed to the BBC's
Test Match Special podcast.
"The three of us traveled up to visit him: Brendon and I took the train
from London, and Stokesy was in Manchester, getting ready to fly out to America
for a family trip. We all met Jimmy at a hotel near the station and talked for
about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don't think Jimmy expected it, but
it wasn't entirely unexpected.
Key stated that Anderson has decided to play one final Test.
"In the back of his mind, he knew the time was coming, and we discussed
many different things, including Jimmy's future after playing..." We
didn't push him to make a decision right away, but he recently determined that
the Lord's game would be his last. We just said, 'Look, I think it's time for us
to go on.' It's time to consider the future. People now require the opportunity
to learn how to bowl with that new ball, to play a day's worth of Test cricket, and then realize they have to back it up the following day. People need to
start learning that now.
Stuart Broad, who retired after the Ashes last summer, called England's dearth
of experience in the post-Anderson assault "scary," but Key said he
was "so excited" about the chance of new players getting
opportunities. "Sometimes it's like following a comedian who's just absolutely
brought the house down and everyone loves him… but that's an opportunity for
someone else," he explained.
Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are set to play when England face
the West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer, while Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse,
Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, and Ollie Robinson are also centrally contracted.
Jamie Overton, Matthew Fisher, and Saqib Mahmood all played Test cricket in
2022, and Key highlighted Dillon Pennington, Olly Stone, and Sam Cook as
potential options.
Key stated that England has been "pretty clear" with Robinson about
the need for him to become more robust. "At his best, when he's running in
and attacking the crease and he's in rhythm, he's a very, very good
bowler," he stated. "When he's down to 78-79mph, he goes back into
the pack and there's other guys that do what Ollie Robinson can do."
Jofra Archer, another centrally contracted fast bowler, is not expected to play Test cricket this summer, but he may feature in Sussex's 2nd XI match against Kent this week as he prepares for the T20 World Cup in June. Stokes, meanwhile, might play in Durham's County Championship match against Lancashire at Blackpool on Friday.
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