‘England can’t be picking Anderson on sentiment forever; have to find some young seamers’, says Boycott

New Delhi: Legendary England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott said England need to move on from James Anderson, as they can’t be picking him on sentiment forever and has urged the side to find young and reliable fast bowlers for the Ashes trip to Australia in 2025-26.

Anderson, 41, reached the landmark of 700 Test wickets by dismissing Kuldeep Yadav on day three of the fifth and final Test against India at Dharamshala, becoming the first fast-bowler to do so.

He is now third on the all-time list of wicket-takers in Tests behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. But by the time England leave for the Ashes in Australia, Anderson will be 43, which means he may not be a certain starter, considering he hasn’t called it quits from the game yet.

Other fast-bowlers like Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson failed to make a serious impression on the Test tour of India. “Jimmy Anderson deserves all the adulation and plaudits for staying fit to play 187 Test matches and reach 700 wickets but, because of his age, he is used too sparingly.

“England cannot keep wrapping him in cotton wool and picking him on sentiment forever. In a year-and-a-half, England’s next big challenge will be going to Australia to try and win back the Ashes. Fast bowling is physically very demanding and eventually takes its toll on every bowler’s body.

“Jimmy will be 43 by the next Ashes and I don’t see him being able to do the hard yards on tough, bone hard pitches and in hot weather. England have to find some young seamers who can bowl 20 overs and come back the next day ready for more. They need to be given matches before the team is selected for Australia,” wrote Boycott in his column for The Telegraph.

He also went on to say, “For example, Josh Tongue played at Lord’s against Australia and took five wickets and has never been seen again. Matt Potts 23 wickets in six Tests but has not played since the Ireland game last summer.”

“Jimmy remains a great craftsman and he can give experience at one end while some new boys get bedded in at the other but before the Australia trip it will be time to nicely say ‘sayonara Jimmy, thank you for the memories. We have loved watching your skill but it is time to move on’.

Speaking about Wood’s time on Test tour of India, Boycott was critical of his performances. “As an express fast bowler it was Wood’s job was to shock and take wickets in short sharp spells. It did not work in India. He took four wickets at 77 in this series and had a poor World Cup in India as well. He puts in plenty of effort but except for an odd ball or two, his pace alone was innocuous.

“A lot of great fast bowlers have found banging the ball into Indian pitches has sucked the life out of deliveries. It is no coincidence that the best wicket-takers for India have been lively bowlers with great skill who kiss the top, cut the ball, use swing and reverse swing.”

Boycott signed off by saying there’s potential in young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, but wondered how spinners will get time in seam-friendly County Championship conditions. “It was a big gamble to select three novice spinners to a country where England rarely does well and Indian batsmen grow up playing spin on turning tracks.

“Inexperienced kids were never going to outbowl experienced Indian spinners in India. If anyone thought that then it was daft, wishful thinking. England were lucky that Virat Kohli was unavailable for all the series and KL Rahul only played one Test. The youngsters did ok and for me off spinner Shoaib Bashir looks to have great potential.

“The problem for all of these youngsters is how much match bowling will they get to develop their skills in our Championship with most of the matches played in seamer friendly conditions of April and May or September? Not much. How can they develop without bowling lots of overs?”

–IANS