With a unique point to make, James Anderson is getting close to his endgame

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Why choosing Anderson for Old Trafford was a "smart choice"

“Is he not there?!” asked a confused Ben Stokes, turning to look at the placard fixed behind him on the wall of the Emirates Old Trafford press conference room. “Got to say I’m amazed at that, yeah.”

James Anderson may have an End named after him here, but he is not listed under “James Anderson” on the global honors board. Which is strange given that this is his home field, there is typically cloud cover in Manchester, and he has a decent record here. 

Yet there hasn’t been a single five-wicket haul among the 37 dismissals at 22.02 in the prior 10 matches. “It would be nice to get his name up on the board,”

Stokes added.

At any other point in Anderson’s career, that may be considered a side goal. But now that he’s back in the lineup after missing the third Test victory and England is trailing the Ashes 2-1, it feels more like a mistake that needs to be made as quickly as possible.

In addition, it’s no longer crazy to argue that this could be Anderson’s penultimate Test appearance overall. This will likely be Anderson’s final appearance at his home stadium. It has always been foolish to attempt to predict his demise. 

However, the notion that a player who turns 41 on day four of the upcoming Oval Test might be on the way out has a little more substance behind it than it did following a lackluster start of three wickets at 75.33 through the first two games of this series.

While Ben Stokes spent the week between Leeds and Manchester watching “The Godfather” for the first time to correct his cultural blindspots, the master of seam and swing has been putting a little more vigor into his customary pre-match tapering.

He stated in his column for The Telegraph that he does not assert a right to a seat in the XI and that “nostalgia” would not be a factor in the decision whether to select him.

It was always likely that Ollie Robinson would miss this match due to a back spasm he suffered during the first innings at Headingley. 

Therefore, it would have been unwise to select Anderson after two poor outings, especially given the fact that he has missed three opportunities with the ball. He is 12 Test dismissals short of reaching the 700 mark, but he is also, for the first time in more than a decade, involved in an unexpected fight to prove his value.

“When you’re a world-class performer for such a long period of time, you can understand the frustration for him that he has not felt like he contributed,” Stokes said. “Even when Jimmy doesn’t feel like he’s contributing, you look at what he’s doing in terms of the run-rate, even without that being his goal.

“He’s such a high-quality performer, he doesn’t really bowl bad balls and the pressure he can put on the opposition can create chances at the other end. He’s not taken nearly 700 wickets without going through two games of not feeling at his best. World-class performers bounce back and deliver. I’ve got no doubt that at some point this week Jimmy Anderson will be very crucial for us.”

Even Stuart Broad believed he would be the other half of the legendary new-ball duo to play the bit-part role not all that long ago, or at least at the beginning of the summer. And yet, Broad has compensated for his partner’s lackluster performances with 16 wickets, the highest on either side at 24.93. 

Nothing highlighted the change in status more than the Edgbaston Test, in which Anderson sat out the first innings of the second innings for the final 36.3 overs as Australia won by two wickets without taking the new ball at home for the first time in 14 years.

This seems to be Anderson’s series’ official debut. The team seems to be in a better place, and the pitches are much more appropriate for his skill. He’s still in terrific spirits and has as much fun with this group as ever. 

Following the conclusion of day four in Headingley, a few England players and staff members based in the north left for home, but Anderson stayed to celebrate a special victory. He helped bowling instructor David Saker during the game, sharing pearls of wisdom that he had learned for the benefit of the other players. He will now have to work hard for himself.

Of course, winning the urn itself is motivation enough—as long as it stays live for the Oval final—but he does have a few other side effects to work on. His last victorious Ashes Test was at Edgbaston in 2015 due to an injury sustained on the first morning of the first Test of 2019. Strangely, his average against Australia is actually higher on the road (34.01) than at home (36.06).

The side tasks and peculiarities to be addressed are all bundled into the main goal as we near what we dread to be the end, even if he doesn’t. England has the rare privilege of bringing on a living legend who has everything to prove on his own field with the Ashes on the line.

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