James Anderson tells next gen bowlers to prefer test cricket over cash-right T20 leagues

James Anderson is set to retire after playing the first test against West Indies at the Lord’s.

James Anderson, the legendary England pacer, has urged the next generation of cricketers to embrace test cricket, instead of going for the quick cash of the T20 leagues. This comes ahead of Anderson’s final test match for England.

Anderson, 41, will play his 188th and final test match of his career at the Lord’s in the first match of the three-match test series against the West Indies. This match will begin on July 10 and will see Anderson ending his career 21 years later where he made his debut in 2003 against Zimbabwe.

James Anderson is third on the list of most wickets ever in test cricket, with 700 scalps in 187 tests, behind Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800). He is already the only pacer to take 700 test wickets and is by far the highest wicket-taker for England in tests.

His 187 tests are the second most in test history, behind India batting hero Sachin Tendulkar, who retired in 2013 after having played 200 tests.

“Test cricket is literally the reason that I am the person that I am”- James Anderson

Great Englishman James Anderson, who is set to retire from tests after first test against the West Indies, hopes that players of the future generation of players will enjoy the challenge of Test cricket rather than merely go “chasing the dollar.”

To have a successful career, cricket players no longer need to establish themselves at the test level. The emergence of profitable Twenty20 franchise competitions, such as the Indian Premier League, has allowed them to make significantly more money with significantly less effort.

The rewards of shorter-form cricket are especially alluring to fast bowlers because of the significantly reduced workload.

However, Anderson credited test cricket for the legacy he’ll leave behind after he retires from the game and hopes the future generation will also share his views about red-ball cricket.

“Test cricket is literally the reason that I am the person that I am. It has taught me so many lessons through the years, and built my resilience to a lot of things. I think the fulfillment you get from putting in a shift in a day’s cricket is different from anything else you can do in the game.

I know you can earn a lot of money from bowling four overs (in T20 cricket), but for me personally, I would never get the same sort of joy or fulfillment from taking wickets that are caught on the boundary compared to really giving a batter a working-over and figure someone out,” Anderson told reporters.

“I just hope there are enough kids and young professionals out there who still want that to be the case, rather than going chasing the dollar,” he added.

James Anderson interestingly, never played a single match for any of the T20 leagues, including those played in England.

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