3 bowlers who can be James Anderson's long-term replacement in England's Test team ft. Josh Tongue
Legendary England fast bowler James Anderson has announced that he will retire from Test cricket after the match against West Indies at Lord's later in the English summer. It is a major blow for the English team because the 41-year-old pacer was among the team's best performers with the ball in the recent series against India.
Last evening, reports surfaced on the internet claiming that England's Test coach Brendon McCullum had informed James Anderson that the team management looked to groom new fast bowlers to lead England's pace attack in the future.
As a result, the legendary pacer selflessly agreed to call it a day on his career, with the first Test against West Indies being marked as his farewell game.
James Anderson has been the backbone of England's pace attack in Test cricket over the last two decades. His absence will hurt the English Test team a lot but here's a look at the three young pacers who can take his place in the squad.
#1 Josh Tongue
Josh Tongue made his Test debut for England last year against Ireland. He also played the Lord's Test match in the Ashes series. Overall, Tongue bagged 10 wickets in two matches, recording one five-wicket haul as well.
The 26-year-old bowls right-arm pace and his main strength is that he can generate awkward bounce from the surface while maintaining a speed of 90mph. The English selectors named him in their white-ball squad for the Caribbean tour after the 2023 World Cup, but an injury did not allow Tongue to make his limited-overs debut in international cricket.
Since then, Tongue has not played any format of professional cricket. He is on his road to recovery, and perhaps, once he is fit, he can become one of England's lead pacers in the Test format.
#2 Sam Cook
Sam Cook is a 26-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler from Essex. He is the number one wicket-taker in the ongoing County Division I Championship with 25 wickets from just four games.
Cook has played 78 first-class matches in his career already, scalping 290 wickets, with his best figures being 7/23. The pacer has picked up 10 four-wicket hauls and 14 five-wicket hauls in his first-class career.
Considering the experience that Cook has, Brendon McCullum might consider giving him an opportunity in the red-ball circuit at the international level.
#3 Ben Coad
Another uncapped pacer to feature on the list is Ben Coad. The 30-year-old fast-medium bowler is the second-highest wicket-taker in County Championship Division II, with 15 wickets in five matches for Yorkshire.
Coad has focused more on red-ball cricket, picking up 261 wickets in 69 matches of his first-class career. With 11 five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls to his name, Coad has proven himself as a wicket-taking bowler.
It will be interesting to see which fast bowler gets an opportunity to take James Anderson's place. Josh Tongue should be the first in line, but if he is injured, uncapped bowlers like Ben Coad and Sam Cook can grab James Anderson's position.