England’s first Test of the summer, against West Indies at Lord’s on Wednesday, will see the end of one great Test bowler’s career and potentially the start of another, as Gus Atkinson makes his debut alongside the retiring Jimmy Anderson.
Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old Somerset spinner, will make his first home appearance after playing three games in India over the winter, with Chris Woakes rounding out the bowling attack. As expected Jamie Smith, Atkinson’s Surrey teammate, will keep wicket, also making his debut.
The focus will inevitably fall on Anderson, who plays his 188th and final Test, less than a year after his great friend and long-term foil Stuart Broad signed off at the Oval by hitting a six off his final ball as a batter and taking a wicket with his final delivery as a bowler. “It’s a lot to live up to, that. I don’t think I’ll be doing anything like what Broady did,” Anderson said. “I’ve hit five [actually three] sixes in my international career, in 187 games, so it’s not looking positive. I’d love to just be able to contribute somehow, whatever it is.
“I’d just love to make a small contribution and win the game. That’s the reason I’ve played cricket for so long, to experience those moments of winning series, winning games, in the dressing-room after, sharing a beer with the other guys, knowing that everyone’s worked really hard to achieve that goal. I’d love to be able to sit down at the end of this Test match with a beer with all the lads and have them win the game.”
Anderson said he was “excited to see what the future holds” as he prepares to move into a mentoring role for the remainder of the summer, spreading his wisdom around a seam-bowling group that includes another potential debutant in Nottinghamshire’s Dillon Pennington.
“I’m actually really excited about what I can contribute to this team, certainly for the rest of this summer and who knows maybe further than that,” he said. “I think I’ve got a lot to offer in terms of my experiences in Test cricket. I’m looking forward to doing that for the rest of the summer. We’ve got a really good group of bowlers, some exciting young bowlers who have not played much Test cricket so it would be great if I can help in a small way.”
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England team to face West Indies at Lord’s: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.