James Anderson endorses Stuart Broad as England star ‘for another 4-5 years’

James Anderson has enjoyed tremendous success since he was 35 and he believes Stuart Broad, who turned 35 last summer, can follow suit and continue to take wickets for England at Test level

James Anderson has backed his longtime bowling partner Stuart Broad to play “another 4-5 years” for England.

Anderson and Broad have played together in 126 Test matches, sharing 944 wickets for a combined average of 26.75, with the pair being England’s all-time Test wicket takers. They were controversially dropped for the recent tour of the West Indies, sparking concerns they may have played their last game for England.

However, the pair were recalled this summer and are expected to once again lead the attack when England take on New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2. With Anderson now 39 and Broad 35, they’re clearly at the end of their careers, but Anderson feels Broad has a lot more in the tank.

Since turning 35, Anderson has won 160 wickets at 21.72 in 44 Tests and he believes Broad, who is four years his junior, can do the same. Speaking to talkSPORT, Anderson said: “Since I was 35 I’ve probably had my best four years in international cricket.

“So from his point of view, he’s thinking, ‘Why can’t I have the best years ahead of me?’ It’s not that we’re slowing down or losing skill or losing fitness.

“We set ourselves really high standards and that’s why we’ve done what we’ve been doing for the last 15 to 20 years. There’s no reason Stuart can’t keep going for another 4 to 5 years.”

Discussing the decision to recall Anderson and Broad, England’s new men’s cricket chief executive Rob Key insisted they will “try to make the best of them while we still have them”. He said: “I think we’re going to try to get the best out of them that we can.

“If they’re part of the best bowling attack I’d rather have them on the team and try to win cricket matches for England than extend their careers when they can’t influence as much as possible. I think we’ll try to make the best of them while we still have them.”

Craig Overton and uncapped Matty Potts are the other two seafarers named in England’s Test squad with fitness issues sidelining Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher.