Playing 11 of cricketers who debuted after James Anderson and have already retired
James Anderson celebrated his 41st birthday last Sunday (July 30). The right-arm fast bowler continues to be England's oldest active Test cricketer. Even at 41, he is among the best in the world when it comes to bowling pace in Test cricket, especially in English conditions.
For the record, James Anderson has scalped 690 wickets in 183 Test matches. He is on his way to completing 200 Test appearances for the English team. Anderson made his Test debut back on May 22, 2003 against Zimbabwe at the Lord's Cricket Ground.
More than two decades have passed since that game. Quite a few cricketers debuted after James Anderson, performed well and have retired as well. Here's a playing XI of such cricketers.
Openers - Alastair Cook and Hashim Amla
The left hand-right hand pair of Alastair Cook and Hashim Amla will open the batting for this team. Cook is one of James Anderson's close friends. He played from 2006 to 2018, scoring 12,472 runs for England. He recorded 33 centuries in 161 Tests.
74th First Class century for Alastair Cook.
An all time great of longer format from England. pic.twitter.com/KCdW3HEf8F
Amla was one of South Africa's most consistent batters. He represented the Proteas from 2004 to 2019, aggregating 9,282 runs at an average of almost 47, with his highest score being 311*.
Middle Order - Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey, and MS Dhoni (wk)
The middle order features one player each from the SENA nations and India. Kevin Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs in 104 Tests from 2005 to 2014, will bat at the number three position. New Zealand's Ross Taylor, who retired last year, will bat at number four. Taylor scored 7,683 runs, including 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.
AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey and MS Dhoni complete the middle-order. Hussey debuted in 2005 and scored 6,235 runs for Australia before playing his last Test in 2013. The left-handed batter had a 50+ batting average, just like AB de Villiers. The former South African captain scored 8,765 runs, hitting 22 centuries in 114 Tests.
MS Dhoni will keep the wickets for this team. Dhoni played 90 Tests, where he amassed 4,876 runs, hitting six centuries and 33 half-centuries. The wicketkeeper executed 38 stumpings and took 256 catches behind the stumps.
Bowlers - Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn, and Saeed Ajmal
Stuart Broad is the latest name to announce retirement. The England fast bowler formed a brilliant partnership with James Anderson. Broad bagged 604 wickets in 167 Test matches from 2007 to 2023.
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An illustrious Test career comes to an end.💔
One of a kind, Stuart Broad!👏🏻
#StuartBroad #Ashes #England pic.twitter.com/InJ7I1Kob0
Australia's Mitchell Johnson and South Africa's Dale Steyn will support him in the pace attack. Johnson bagged 313 wickets in 73 Tests for Australia from 2007 to 2015. Meanwhile, Steyn represented the Proteas from 2004 to 2019, scalping 439 Test wickets.
Saeed Ajmal will lead the spin attack of this team. The former Pakistan spinner picked up 178 wickets in just 35 Tests for Pakistan. He bagged 10 five-wicket hauls and four 10-wicket match hauls from 2009 to 2014.
Best Playing XI of players who debuted and retired during James Anderson's career span
Alastair Cook, Hashim Amla, Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, AB de Villiers, Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni, Mitchell Johnson, Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad and Saeed Ajmal.