In his farewell, I hope James Anderson takes all 20 wickets: Ben Stokes

In his final Test match at Lord’s against the West Indies, which begins on July 10, England Test captain Ben Stokes backed James Anderson to take all 20 wickets. With a fantastic opportunity to surpass Shane Warne and become the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history, the renowned fast bowler is on the cusp of history.

While James Anderson currently has 700 dismissals under his record, the renowned Australian spinner has 708 dismissals.

The England captain is supporting him to make history even though he needs nine wickets to move past Warne. Stokes added that although Anderson is still capable of playing Test cricket at 41, the team management has chosen to construct a squad that will retain the Ashes in 2025, forcing Anderson to announce his retirement.

To be honest, I hope he takes all 20 wickets. When Stuart (Broad) talked about wanting to retire and go out on top, I paid attention to what he said. It even had me thinking about when it will be my turn to retire. “I didn’t think Stuart Broad was meant to be good. I didn’t want a new player to come in and go,” he stated. In an interview with The Telegraph, Stokes responded, “Yeah, that is a good thing to think about.”

“Obviously, Jimmy still possesses the necessary skill set to play international cricket. However, in 18 months, we will need to make some important decisions, and we still have the Ashes to consider. You can never ask someone, “Oh, is that Jimmy Anderson?” He is still amazing, therefore I felt he was destined to be good,” he continued.

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Anderson struggled in the Ashes 2023, taking just five wickets at an average of 85.40 in four games. That was a major factor in the team management’s choice to hire fresh personnel. The 41-year-old hasn’t disclosed his availability for Lancashire in County, though, since he has received an invitation from the ECB to serve as a mentor for the senior men’s team.