'This is the right time' for England to move on from Anderson – Key

Director of England men’s cricket Rob Key says “this is the right time” for Jimmy Anderson to retire from international cricket.

Key revealed the decision was made following a discussion with head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

It was announced on Saturday that the Lord’s Test against the West Indies this July will be Anderson’s final one in an England shirt.

Speculation over when the Lancastrian, 41, would call it a day has followed him around for sometime, especially after a sparse return in last summer’s Ashes series.

He bounced back to take his 700th Test wicket – more than any other faster bowler – in the winter tour of India.

But Key insists it is time to start blooding some younger faces, as England gear up to take on Australia in the Ashes in 18 months time.

“When we made the decision and thought we needed to meet Jimmy to discuss the future, Brendon came to the conclusion that the right thing to do was to fly over to England,” Key said on the Test Match Special County Cricket podcast.

“We had a conversation for about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don’t think Jimmy was expecting it, but I don’t think it was completely unexpected.

“We felt it was right that Jimmy and the public had the opportunity to say goodbye. We didn’t impress upon him that he needed to make the decision there and then. Not so long ago he decided the Lord’s game would be his last.

“This is the right decision and this is the right time. Hopefully he gets a fantastic end at Lord’s.”

Anderson made his England bow all the way back in 2002, in a One Day International against Australia.

It was not long before he won his first Test cap, taking five wickets against Zimbabwe, fittingly also at Lord’s, in 2003.

In the near 22 years since his debut, he has racked up 987 dismissals for his country across all formats.

His 269 wickets in One Day International cricket remains the most by an England player, while only Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Austrlian Shane Warne (708) have claimed more Test match victims.

But he has conceded it is unlikely he would be able to head to Australia for the 2025-26 Ashes, and Key wants to use the three-match series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer as a chance to look at some fresh faces.

“We just sort of said, ‘look, I think it’s time for us to move on’,” he added. “We’re coming to a stage now where we’ve got to start looking towards the future.

“People now need the opportunity to learn how to bowl with that new ball, to go through a day’s worth of Test cricket and then realise they’ve got to back it up the next day. Now’s the time that people have to start learning that.”

Key has also been discussing the prospect of Jofra Archer pulling on an England Test shirt again in the near future.

The fast bowler has not featured for his country in any format of the game for over a year due to a persistent elbow problem, while his last red-ball appearance was in 2021.

Key has revealed that Archer has been playing club cricket back in Barbados, while he is also set to play for his county, Sussex, in the T20 Blast, which gets underway later this month.

“Jofra needs to build up his robustness, so his body can do what is required to be a fast bowler,” he said. “Hopefully next year he can play some red-ball cricket.

“He keeps sending me the YouTube clips of his batting, because I think he fancies himself up the order.”

Meanwhile, skipper Stokes will make his return to the County Championship after a two-year absence this week.

The all-rounder is set to play for Durham, when they face Lancashire in a four-day game at Blackpool.

His last game in the competition came in the summer of 2022, shortly before his first Test as England captain against New Zealand.

Since then, the international schedule and injury has prevented the 32-year-old from playing county cricket.

That decision was made with a view to getting his body ready to once again feature as an all-rounder.

And he will step up those preparations against Lancashire, with head coach Ryan Campbell saying: “I suggest if you’ve got a few days over the weekend, you get yourself down to Blackpool to watch the great Ben Stokes’ return for Durham.”