‘Stuart and I were hoping our careers weren’t over’: Anderson | Cricket

England’s veteran pacer James Anderson said he would like to return to the Test team under new captain Ben Stokes after being controversially dropped from the squad. Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s all-time leading test wicket-takers with 1,177 wickets between them, were left out of the 16-man squad for the three-test tour of the West Indies in March, which the team lost 1-0.

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Rob Key, the newly appointed managing director of the England cricket board, told Sky Sports this week that the duo could feature for England this summer and were keen to be involved.

“Stuart and I were hoping our careers weren’t over,” said Anderson to BBC. “So it’s nice to hear there’s a chance.

“It still means we’ve got to put in some performances here with our counties to prove that we’re playing well enough to get in that final XI.

“Because of the situation and not having people in these roles, you’re just so unsure of what’s going to happen. So now having that clarity is really nice.”

England unveiled Stokes as their Test captain on Thursday, hoping for a swift turnaround after a tame end this month to Joe Root’s five years in charge. Stokes’ first assignment will be a two-match home series in June against New Zealand.

Anderson had earlier called Stokes a “natural leader who has the respect of the group” – and “a clear idea of how he wants the team to play”.

“I’d love to be part of that,” Anderson further added. “We’ve had a tough few years, we’re down the bottom of the Test Championship. English cricket needs to get back to winning test matches.”

Ben Stokes is expected to begin his captaincy stint in Tests on June 2, when the side takes on New Zealand in the first Test of the two-game series at Lord’s.