"I hadn't really thought about it just because as I said I felt as fit as I ever have been in India," Anderson said. "I thought that playing this summer would be achievable. Obviously as a senior bowler you don't play every Test anyway, you get rested and stuff like that. I thought that was achievable and then think about stuff after that. That's the way I've always approached it.

The decision by the "three big dogs" as Anderson labelled them, with him being moved on, he was comfortable with how the whole issue was handled.

"It's been a strange couple of months. I feel pretty happy with where things are now and pretty excited for the week as well. I think having quite a few friends and family come down for the week, which is good. I've had a lot of people who've stopped me in the street or met out and about saying that they're coming to the game. I'm just excited for the week.

"I'm trying not to think too much about the game itself yet, or certainly how I'd feel about it," he said. "I'm trying to be as focused as I can. The big thing for me this week is wanting to play well, bowl well and get a win. That's what I'm trying to focus on really. I'm sure the emotions during the week will change, but right now that's what I'm trying to focus on to stop myself crying.

Even though he had not thought about retiring, the meeting with Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key - the director of cricket of the ECB at a Manchester hotel in April forced his hand as the team management looks forward to the future with one eye on the 2025-2026 Ashes in Australia. Yet Anderson has made peace with the decision despite feeling that he is "still bowling as well as I ever have".

So what did Anderson say in his final press conference earlier this week?

If only words could do justice to Anderson's career! Well at least we tried. And it all ends this week as arguably the greatest fast bowler the sport has ever seen prepares to wind down his career at a place where it all began 21 summers ago. Fitting that it had to be at the Home of Cricket - Lord's. Hello and a warm welcome to one and all for what is Anderson's final fling in Test match whites as we build up to his farewell Test against West Indies.

And he is a pacer alongside all this.

James Michael Anderson - you won't see something of this ilk anytime soon. 22-year international career. 700 Test wickets. Countless memories. Incredible longevity.

The two 0-5 Ashes whitewashes. The ignominious 2015 Cricket World Cup which was his last in coloured clothing for his country. More reverse swing heroics against India in Chennai in 2021. That spell at Rawalpindi in 2022 which set England on their way to 3-0 whitewash away. The 700th Test wicket at the foothills of the Himalayas in Dharamshala after a tough India tour. 

That baby-faced 20-year-old who announced himself to the world with a devastating outswinging yorker that castled Mohammad Yousuf in 2003. The debut fifer against Zimbabwe at Lord's in 2003. The pearls to Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond at Trent Bridge in 2008. The introduction of the wobble-seam delivery that helped England to an Ashes win Down Under in 2010-11. The shushing of Mitchell Johnson after a chirp from the Aussie in the same series. The reverse swing masterclass against India in 2012, inspiring a historic series win. The tears after falling to the penultimate delivery against Sri Lanka at Leeds in 2014. The ugly fracas with Ravindra Jadeja at Trent Bridge in 2014 that threatened to snowball into a major controversy.

So that asks the question - what has been your favorite Anderson memory from his playing career? Here's a few of them in no particular order.

This astonishing stat should make some sense of Anderson's longevity. After the age of 30 he has played in 116 Tests. 116, yes you read that right! Not many get the chance to play 116 throughout a whole career and here is a man who is rolling back time after 30 when the clock is ticking on your career. And the amazing thing is that he has just got better and better and better as he ages. Truly a modern miracle this man!

Strauss is just an example. Anderson's longevity has seen him play under eight different Test captains starting from Nasser Hussain to the current incumbent Ben Stokes. Also he has seen eight Prime Ministers during his playing tenure. The passing of the Queen, the coronation of Prince Charles as the King, the Covid Pandemic and countless other major events.

Consider this: players who have debuted with him and after him have gone on to retire and go on to different spheres in life. An example being Sir Andrew Strauss who debuted after Anderson and retired in 2012. Strauss became director of cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2015 and ended that post in 2018 and still we have Anderson going on.

Anderson is a modern day freak. A man so fit that he would make youngsters jealous just the way his body has been maintained - slim, lean and mean. He is the epitome of patience, longevity and fitness, all hallmarks of his distinguished career. Just last week he was taking seven for 35 in Lancashire's County Championship match against Nottinghamshire. Those figures were the best by a bowler in the Championship all season in what is his first match of the summer.

Where do we even start with Anderson? What were you doing in 2003? Some wouldn't have even been born by then. I was in my 11th Grade studying hard hoping to make a career out of it. And now here I'm happily married with two kids who go to school and a certain man is still running in and hurling that 5.5 ounces of leather down the pitch.

9:42am local, 2:12pm India: May 2003

July 2024

21 years

187 Tests

One man

James Anderson

LEGEND!

Preview:

There are moments that nudge you to look back and marvel at how quickly time passes. The start of this English summer promises to be one of them. For, the season opener at Lord's will witness James Anderson, one of the game's greatest fast bowlers, draw curtains on an international career of 22 years. Yet, those watching closely saw the 41-year-old pick a seven-wicket haul for his county merely days ago. So, has time really passed so quickly? Has it passed at all?

Clearly, it hasn't for Anderson. He's bowling as well as he ever has, feels "as fit as" he's ever been and still thinks he can "do the job" for England. No wonder he really didn't want to leave but has had to make the tough choice to move on after a nudge from the top management. Fortunately, we get to see him for one final time, in what will be his 188th Test, as he tries to get the job done for England at the most famous venue of them all.

The kind of life England are going to step into after Anderson's retirement is what West Indies have been living for decades. Once again, they turn up to the shores of Britain with a squad that's still wet behind the ears. Shai Hope's decoupling with Test cricket perhaps hurts the most in these climes, where his twin hundreds had once steered his side to a famous victory. But the fact remains that he's not in this Test side and the young batting group will have to extrapolate their learnings from the three-day warm-up into the giant arena of Test cricket.

It will be interesting to note how the visitors' bowling line-up, clearly their stronger suit even without the injured Kemar Roach, fares against what could be a slightly more measured England side in the second half of Brendon McCullum's reign. The head coach had promised "adjustment" and "refinement" in their aggressive methods after being "exposed" during a 4-1 series defeat in India, and how that will play out, if at all, will have everyone interested. Not in the least the crowd at Lord's, which doesn't ever fail to turn up, Bazball or not. This time around though, the suits in the stands will be sharper and the wine older as they farewell someone who's no stranger to getting better with age.

When: 1st Test, 10 July onwards, 11am local (3:30pm IST)

Where: Lord's, London

What to expect: It's almost always a five-day pitch at Lord's unless the overhead conditions interfere. There are rains forecast, as you would in what's expected to be one of Britain's wettest summers since 1912.

Team News:

England: Fast bowler Gus Atkinson and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith have been confirmed to make their debuts. Chris Woakes returns from his personal break after the passing away of his father whereas offspinner Shoaib Bashir is set to play his first Test on home soil after impressing on the away tour of India.

Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, James Anderson

West Indies: Opening batter Mikyle Louis is likely to partner Brathwaite at the top and make his debut, becoming the first player from St Kitts to play Test cricket for West Indies. Jason Holder, no longer centrally contracted, makes a return after missing the tour to Australia.

Probable XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Kevin Sinclair, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales

Did you know?

Anderson is 8 wickets away from equalling Shane Warne's tally of 708 Test wickets

England have won only two of the last seven Tests at Lord's

10 of West Indies's 15-member squad has played fewer than 10 Tests

What they said:

"I am trying not to think too much about the game itself yet, or how I'd feel about it. The big thing for me this week is wanting to play well, bowl well and get a win. I'm sure the emotions during the week will change, but right now that's what I'm trying to focus on to stop myself crying" - James Anderson on his final week as a Test cricketer

"It [Brisbane Test victory] gave me a renewed energy to come back to the group, and try to be a part of something special again. I missed Test cricket. This is my first Test match in a long time, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm just happy that I've been able to still get the body up and going and being up for the challenge here" - Jason Holder on his comeback after missing the tour of Australia

Squads: