James Anderson to play amid speculation about future after low-key returns so far
Matt Roller26-Jul-2023England have named an unchanged team for the fifth and final men’s Ashes Test at The Kia Oval, which starts on Thursday, with veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad both retaining their places.The final day of the drawn fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford was wiped out by the Manchester rain, effectively giving England’s bowlers an extra day to recover. “Everyone’s pulled up well,” Ben Stokes, their captain, said. “Everyone is fit from the last game.”It’s been a tough four games. One little, tiny positive we could maybe take from the rain is that the bowlers got a bit more rest. It’s a strange one to look at from that point of view. But with the quick turnaround and the game we have here, knowing what we need to do, you could see that as a tiny, tiny little positive – although it’s very hard to say it’s a positive.”Anderson turns 41 on the fourth day of the fifth Test but said in his newspaper column this week that he has had “no thoughts about retirement”. Stokes was unequivocal when asked about Anderson’s future in the England team: “He’s quality, man. It’s very hard for you guys to sit here and say he’s not.”Although he’s not had the impact or the wickets he would have liked to in this series, he’s a quality bowler and quality performer. Jimmy’s come under a bit of flack for that but if Joe [Root] hadn’t scored the runs he would have liked, you wouldn’t be questioning him staying in the team as a batter.”James Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game and he’s still looking as good as he was two years ago, although he hasn’t had the impact that he would have liked in this series.”Related
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Broad’s retention means that he will be the only England seamer to play all five Ashes Tests at the age of 37. “It was always going to be hard for one bowler to play every game this series but he’s been incredible for us,” Stokes said.”He’s put in some incredible performances throughout the Test matches, but also been very good at coming on with the ball and changing the game numerous times, which is something he’s done throughout his whole career.”He’s the leading wicket-taker and it’s very hard to look past someone like that. At 37 years old that’s testament to how much work he puts in off the field to keep turning out for England on the field.”Chris Woakes and Mark Wood have also been declared fit and will play their third consecutive Tests, having come into the side for England’s win at Headingley.Stokes felt “pretty flat” at the end of the fourth Test•Getty Images
Stokes admitted to feeling “pretty flat” after the washout in Manchester. “I’ve never left a field, a game, pretty emotionless,” he said. “It was a bizarre feeling. The game petered out the way it did because of the weather. You look back and think, ‘Do you wish we’d got beat?’ or we had played and Australia pulled a draw off.”We leave the ground when you can’t do anything. It’s a strange place to be. It makes you feel very odd. Shaking hands at the end, you could feel it from both sides, emotionless. Australia retained the Ashes, we couldn’t win it back but it was very bizarre… it was a pretty flat feeling but we’ve got rid of those emotions and we’re ready for this week.”But he believes England will have to “start all over again” at The Oval, despite their dominance at Old Trafford. “It’s a new game and things can play out differently,” Stokes said. “We just need to go out there and put the same amount of pressure onto Australia as we’ve been trying to throughout this series.”I thought the way we did that at Old Trafford, Australia didn’t have an answer, particularly when we had the bat in hand. It was great viewing, watching the lads go about their business with the bat. But [it’s the] same old things: completely different game, and we’ll just have to start all over again.”
