James Michael Anderson, usually known as Jimmy Anderson is probably the greatest fast bowler of all time. Jimmy Anderson is an all-time leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers and England’s highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODI cricket. Anderson has taken 575 wickets in 149 Test matches and 269 wickets in 194 ODI matches. In his long and illustrious career which started in 2002, Anderson has had to face injuries at regular intervals. He has not played for England in the ODIs since the 2015 World Cup.

England warmed up for the 2019 Ashes with a Test series earlier in the year against West Indies. In the first innings of the first Test of the three-match Test series, Jimmy Anderson took a five-wicket haul and equaled the record for most five-wicket hauls for England in Test matches. Anderson finished the series with 10 wickets at an average of 24.50

Anderson was selected in the 2019 Ashes squad. He played in the first Test match of the series but only managed to bowl four overs before suffering pain in his calf, a problem he picked up while playing for Lancashire. After the injury in the first match, while playing for Lancashire’s 2nd XI, in a bid to prove his fitness, Anderson again felt pain in his right calf. After further assessment by England’s medical team, Anderson was ruled out of the rest of Ashes and Craig Overtown was called up as his replacement. England finished the series at a 2-2 draw with 56 points in the World Test Championship points table.

37-year-old Jimmy Anderson is hoping to make a come back in the series against South Africa in December and January and show his class in a live cricket score match once again. He is also confident of becoming the world’s No 1 Test bowler once more. To achieve his goals, he plans to study how other elite athletes prolong their careers. He is also being helped by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in his bid to recover from the injury. Last year, Anderson trained with Burnley City have agreed that he can train at their Etihad campus and use the world class-facilities and medical staff that comes along with it. He will be looking forward to tapping into some of the best facilities and experts in the world to help him extend his career till the age of 40. 

Jimmy Anderson, the most prolific fast bowler in Test history has never really talked about retirement and maybe the lure of becoming the first fast bowler with 600 wickets may see Jimmy Anderson make a come back for more time.

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