England captain Ben Stokes wishes to see veteran pacer James Anderson take all 20 wickets against West Indies in his farewell Test at Lord's, London starting July 10. Stokes lauded Anderson for his skills that make him the word-class bowler he is but feels it was time to look ahead prepare for the away Ashes series next year.
Stokes recalled how Stuart Broad retired on a high last year and wants the same for Anderson who made his debut a decade before him.
"I hope he takes all 20 wickets if I’m being honest. I listened to Stuart talk about his retirement and wanting to go out on top and there was one thing he said that even made me think about when the time comes for me to go. He said: ‘I didn’t want a new player to come in and go I thought Stuart Broad was meant to be good. I thought: ‘Yeah that is a good thing to think about,” Stokes told The Telegraph.
"Jimmy’s skillset is obviously still good enough for international cricket. But we have to make big decisions and we have got the Ashes to think about in 18 months’ time. Nobody will ever say, ‘Oh is that Jimmy Anderson? I thought he was meant to be good’ because he is still incredible," he added.
Stokes ready to bowl with knee at its best
Stokes also gave an update on his knee that troubled him last year and forced the all-rounder to opt for surgery.
"The bowling is coming on really well. It is great to be able to sit here after two years not knowing how it was going to be on a day to day basis to now being as good as gold. It is really refreshing for me as a player and captain knowing we can always have four seamers. It balances the team so much better. I know I offer the team so much more when playing a bigger role with bat and ball. The knee is the best it has been for a long time," the 33-year-old said.
Anderson’s chance to go past Warne
Anderson has played 187 Tests so far with 700 wickets to his name including five 32 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls in the match. The 41-year-old has most wickets for a pacer by far. He also has a chance to become the second-highest wicket-taker of all time in Test cricket. Australia's Shane Warne has 708 wickets from 145 Tests whereas Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan is on top with 800 wickets.
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