There were no fairy tales for Jimmy Anderson, no last-ball wickets, but he had no regrets either after absorbing the applause and grateful and generous emotions of the home crowd at the end of his final Test. “I’m really, really happy how things turned out,” he said.
Anderson admitted he was “trying to hold back tears” as he thought about his final game. “I never really dreamed about retirement. I never really thought about what that would be like,” he said. “But it’s been an amazing few days. Every time I go on, I’m a little overwhelmed by the reaction from the crowd. Today was really special. Seeing my girls ring the doorbell on the first day was very special and exciting .I’m happy that I actually bowled half a decent pitch and got some wickets and contributed to the win.
The routine win ended just over an hour later on day three, with Gus Atkinson taking the final wicket to beat West Indies by an innings and 114 runs, with Anderson taking his wicket The fourth wicket of his career and the 704th of his career found the edge of Joshua Da Silva’s bat on the final morning – certainly not his 188th Test appearance. The most striking one. But the 41-year-old said his emotions after the game were representative of what he misses most about the sport – “The feeling we have now, winning the Test match, there’s no better feeling than that” – — also means he’ll miss it at least: “Like how I feel now, after bowling this week, I feel like I’m about 55. The aches and pains you wake up with, I don’t think I’ll miss it. they.
Anderson says he has never given much thought to how England supporters view him – perhaps “cherished” would be a better word. “I’m feeling it more this week,” he said. “I think that’s probably what makes me happiest about having a long career. I would love for someone to start learning the art of bowling because they watched me bowl. That’s probably our job as cricketers too. You It’s not just about winning cricket matches, you want to be a role model when I was growing up I looked up to players and tried to emulate them or copy them and be like them and I loved the idea of kids doing that because of me. .
Ben Stokes said being part of the event was “very, very special”. “He’s a great guy, a great guy,” Stokes said. “I didn’t tell him, but he would always bowl until we got the last wicket, no matter how long it took. Even if he said he was tired, I wasn’t going to let him go. To sum up, Ge Si actually apologized to him for taking the last wicket and Jimmy just told him to “fuck off”. He is a man who likes to see others doing well.
Anderson’s new role will be to ensure they do just that: when the players report for the second Test in Nottingham, Anderson will begin a new chapter as bowling coach, initially until the end of the summer. “My job has probably been five or 10 years of trying to help people feel comfortable in Test cricket, whether it’s on the pitch or in the dressing room,” Anderson said. “There are games I haven’t played but I still try. It’s about helping people who are competing, so I don’t think this role is that different for me.
“Obviously I’ve been working on the game for 20 years. I think I have a good understanding of the technical aspects as well, and I feel I can have a real impact on people. I’m definitely not going to tell people how to bowl, I’m going to be a sounding board .If they need me, I’ll be there. I hope I like the job and I hope I’m good enough that they’ll want to keep me, but we’ll just see.
