COVID-19 break to extend career by two years: Anderson
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|| Desk Report ||
England’s fit-again fast bowler James Anderson believes that the extended break afforded to him by cricket’s suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic could prolong his career by up to two years.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has set a provisional date of July 8 for the upcoming series to begin against West Indies for which the ECB named an extended 55-man squad.
Of course, they had some more series ahead against Pakistan, Ireland and Australia after the West Indies.
The 37-year-old Anderson, who has not played since suffering a rib injury in January, was also part of a 55-strong group asked to return to training for the forthcoming games and series.
“The break could just add on a year or two at the end of my career,” said James Anderson, who Test cricket’s most prolific fast bowler with 584 wickets.
“I’ve really enjoyed being back; and as odd as it is just bowling into a net with not many people around, it’s still nice to be back and playing cricket,” Anderson said on the Tailenders podcast.
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler previously said the shutdown had allowed cricketers to recharge their batteries and could prove beneficial in the long run.
With games set to be played without fans, Anderson believes that crowd noise should be piped in to improve the atmosphere in stadiums.
“I’ve been watching the rugby league in Australia and I actually thought there was a crowd watching,” the Lancashire paceman said.
“I thought it worked. It was nice to have that sort of atmosphere even though there was no one there,” he signed off.
