‘Hope he takes all 20 wickets’: Ben Stokes’ final wish ahead of James Anderson’s last Test

England captain Ben Stokes said he hopes to see James Anderson take all 20 wickets for England in his final Test match against West Indies at Lord’s.

James Anderson will play his last Test against West Indies at Lord’s Cricket Ground. (Photo: Getty Images)

New Delhi: England Test captain Ben Stokes said he wishes to see James Anderson take all 20 wickets as the veteran pacer gears up to his last Test match against West Indies at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Anderson, who made his debut for England in 2003, will retire as the leading wicket-taker for the country in Test cricket.

Speaking about Anderson’s retirement, Stokes insisted the fast bowler’s skills are world-class but admitted that it is now time for England to prepare for the away series in Ashes 2025 which is the reason why the team has decided to move on from the old warhorse. Anderson will play his final 188th Test match when England lock horns with West Indies in the 1st Test of the three-match series which gets underway on July 10.

Anderson has been one of the most prolific wicket-takers in the longest format throughout his career. He holds the record for being the highest wicket-taker for England in Tests with 700 wickets from 187 Tests at an average of 26.52, including 32 five-wicket hauls. The pacer has a chance to retire as the second-highest wicket-taker of all-time in Tests by surpassing Shane Warne in his final Test match.

“I hope he takes all 20 wickets if I’m being honest. I listened to Stuart talk about his retirement and wanting to go out on top and there was one thing he said that even made me think about when the time comes for me to go. He said: ‘I didn’t want a new player to come in and go I thought Stuart Broad was meant to be good. I thought: ‘Yeah that is a good thing to think about,” Stokes told The Telegraph.

Anderson, who is currently on 700 wickets, needs another 8 wickets in his final Test match to go past Warne and retire as the second-highest wicket-taker of all-time behind only Muttiah Muralitharan, who is the leading wicket-taker of all time in the whites with 800 wickets to his name.

Stokes explains why it’s time to move on

Explaining why he feels it is the right time for England to move on from Anderson, skipper Stokes said he doesn’t want people to look at Anderson bowling in the Ashes next year and think wasn’t he supposed to be good. While he admitted Anderson’s skills are still world-class, Stokes feels it is time for the team to form a new pace attack for the future.

“Jimmy’s skillset is obviously still good enough for international cricket. But we have to make big decisions and we have got the Ashes to think about in 18 months’ time. Nobody will ever say, ‘Oh is that Jimmy Anderson? I thought he was meant to be good’ because he is still incredible,” said the England Test captain.