Telling James Anderson it is time to step aside shows a ruthlessness from Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes that should end suggestions of a cosy England dressing room, writes Stephan Shemilt.
It is always head coach Brendon McCullum, rather than captain Ben Stokes, that delivers news to England players, whether it be good or bad.
Anderson deserved a face-to-face explanation, even if that meant McCullum being more than 11,000 miles away from home. Stokes would have been well aware, completing the circle of the skipper bringing Anderson in from the cold when he took the helm two years ago. Anderson remains in impeccable physical condition. Disappointed by only taking five wickets in the Ashes, he hired a public running track to improve the speed of his run-up. He turned up in India as fit as ever. Lithe, with abs chiselled from granite and blond in his hair, he looked like WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes.
Broad and Anderson will exit in back-to-back home Tests, albeit a year apart. In the search for the cutting edge England crave down under, the likes of Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue wait in the wings to join Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. One wonders what this might mean for Chris Woakes’ future prospects, while Ollie Robinson has work to do to get back in favour.
There will be plenty of time for tributes to a player that has been a constant presence at the top of English cricket for more than two decades. Anderson has played alongside some men born after he made his debut and there will be supporters in their late 20s or early 30s who can’t remember an England team without him.
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