James Anderson looks set to retire from international cricket at the end of England’s home summer.
The Guardian reported on Friday that Brendon McCullum, England’s Test coach, travelled to the UK from New Zealand earlier this week and told Anderson in person over a round of golf that he intends to look to the future this summer, building towards the 2025-26 Ashes.
Anderson became the third man to reach 700 Test wickets earlier this year in the final match of England’s tour to India but had a relatively light workload in India, bowling 110 overs across seven innings. He also struggled to make an impact against Australia last summer, taking five wickets at 85.40 across four Tests.
He will turn 42 at the end of England’s three-match series against West Indies in July, and could bow out during their subsequent three-match series against Sri Lanka – which starts at his home ground, Emirates Old Trafford, in late August.
Anderson is expected to address his future on Saturday, when he appears on the BBC’s coverage of England women’s T20I against Pakistan at Edgbaston. The ECB declined to comment when contacted by ESPNcricinfo on Friday evening.
He is yet to feature for Lancashire this summer and said last month that he was unlikely to do so before the end of May at the earliest, managing his workload ahead of the series against West Indies.
Rob Key, England men’s managing director, said in a newspaper interview earlier this year that he would look to a new generation of seamers to “take us forward” in the coming years following Stuart Broad’s retirement at the end of last summer, citing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Matt Potts, Gus Atkinson, Matt Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and John Turner.