Ben Stokes and James Anderson of England walk back into the pavilion after a team photo at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 09, 2024 in London, England.
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It doesn’t matter if James Anderson takes a bunch of West Indies wickets for England in the first test at Lord’s from Wednesday.

The series opener will be Anderson’s 188th and last test and he will transition into England’s fast-bowling mentor.

He was pensioned off by England managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. They met him at a Manchester hotel in April to say he wasn’t in their plans for the 2025-26 Ashes in Australia.

This was a month after Anderson returned from India, where he took 10 wickets at an average of 33.50. That series was lost 4-1 but on the last morning of the last test in Dharamsala, Anderson became the first seamer in history to take 700 wickets.

He spoke then of being in the best shape, liking where his game was at, and being really excited for this summer, when he will turn 42 at the end of this month.

This week, he said he was surprised at how calmly he took the news from Key, McCullum and Stokes. He understood their decision, adding, “I’ve sort of made peace with that.”

Anderson warmed up for his last test by showing his class last week in his first English County appearance for Lancashire. He took 7-35, the best figures in the championship.

His 21-year test career comes full circle at Lord’s, where he made his test debut in 2003 against Zimbabwe. Lord’s witnessed Anderson’s career-best figures of 7-42 against the West Indies in 2017.

As one era ends, others could start. Surrey seamer Gus Atkinson and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith have been handed test debuts. Both played white-ball cricket for England last year; Atkinson went to the ODI World Cup. Smith replaces Jonny Bairstow, who’s been dropped after 100 tests.

Spinner Jack Leach has also made way for Shoaib Bashir to make his home test debut after taking 17 wickets in India. Chris Woakes returns for his first test since he was the player of the Ashes series last summer.

“There’ll be some decisions I’m sure people might not understand or might be frustrated by and that’s something that I’m absolutely fine with and completely understand,” Stokes said on Tuesday.

“I don’t want to say I’m stubborn, but one thing I’m very clear on is that I know that these decisions are best for the team, from my point of view. Look at where we’ve got to go in 18 months’ time, to Australia. We want to win that urn back.”

The West Indies plays its first test since the extraordinary eight-run victory over Australia in Brisbane in January, after a 10-wicket thrashing in Adelaide.

Allrounder and former captain Jason Holder was recalled along with fellow fast bowler Jayden Seales. Opening batter Mikyle Louis will become the first man from St. Kitts and Nevis to play a test.

In the absence of the injured Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph will lead the pace attack with Seales and Shamar Joseph, whose 7-68 scuttled the Australians in Brisbane in the second innings. That earned Shamar Joseph in his second test the player of the match and short series.

Shamar Joseph called England retiree Anderson “perfect” as a test player to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper but “I want to rain on his parade.”

Anderson said he was trying hard not to think of his pending forced retirement.

“The big thing for me this week is wanting to play well, bowl well and get a win,” he said. “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.”

Lineups:

England: ⁠Zak Crawley,⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, ⁠Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook,⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (captain), ⁠Jamie Smith, ⁠Chris Woakes, ⁠Gus Atkinson, ⁠Shoaib Bashir, ⁠James Anderson.

West Indies Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua da Silva, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.

A modern great, James Anderson plays his 188th and final Test at Lord’s from today. Behind that simple statement lies a philosophy reflecting a cultural divide between England and India. It also throws light on such hazy but important qualities as selfishness and sacrifice in sport. Asked by a reporter if he would like to carry on, Anderson said, “I’ve not really got a choice.” The farewell comes 22 years after his international debut.

Last year, Anderson was told this would be his final summer of cricket. He turns 42 later in the month, and some of the reluctance you can read above may be put down to his competitive nature and refusal to give up that is now part of his mental make-up and have been key elements in his success. It is difficult to switch off.

He is still bowling well, as he showed with seven for 35 for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire last week. In his previous Test, in Dharamsala, he became the first seamer to take 700 wickets.

All sporting goodbyes are laced with high emotion from players and fans alike. Tears are shed, heroics recalled, and fans recollect the many times their own lives have been bookmarked by a hero’s performance. Where were you when Sachin Tendulkar played his final Test?

Choose departure date

In India, favourites are generally allowed to choose the date of their departure. Seldom do selectors go up to a top player and say, “Listen, no more extensions after this series, we have to build a team for the future.” Greats have been carried by the team because there’s a landmark on the horizon or because they want to quit on their home ground. Thus was Kapil Dev allowed to carry on till he had overtaken Richard Hadlee’s then record of 431 Test wickets.

Tendulkar himself was allowed to play on till his 200th Test in Mumbai. In India such concessions are seen as the players’ due (although Virender Sehwag wasn’t given such an option). In some ways, Indian fans live their lives through and get their self-image from a Tendulkar, and to see him play and score is a great substitute for the fans not doing nearly as well in life. After all, only a minuscule percentage can claim to be the best at what they do; we identify easily with those who can make such a claim. Their success becomes ours.

It often means that sometimes an individual performance is seen as more important than its impact. When Tendulkar made his long-awaited 100th century, against Bangladesh in an ODI, India lost the match. It was one of his slowest centuries, but it didn’t matter. Individual selfishness had merged with a nation’s.

Selfish element

For, of course selfishness is an important element of greatness in sport, even if better understood in individual sport.

A top player consciously develops his selfish side in the team interest. Success at the highest level requires single-minded focus, the ability to do the job to the exclusion of everything else, and understanding one’s own importance to the team. This monk-like approach focuses on the self and on increasing the value of the self in the team context.

In the early years, such selfishness serves the team; later it serves the individual. Selfishness is one of the reasons for success; it is not something that can be turned on and off.

Recent research by sports scientists at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has found that being self-centred, ruthless and manipulative helps elite athletes achieve glory. Things like selfishness that may be considered evil in social settings are important in sporting performance. Most elite sportsmen know this instinctively. They know they cannot rise to the top without putting themselves first, working on their game obsessively. For the team to do well, they have to do well.

There is support in England for Anderson to continue playing till he decides it is over. This is one occasion when what is good for the individual is not necessarily good for the team. Asking a long-serving servant of the game to pack up and leave might appear callous, but there is no disrespect here.

Great as the individual’s past was, it is the team’s future that needs to be considered.

James Anderson, a plumber from Burnley known as “Britain’s kindest plumber,” is facing accusations of fabricating heartwarming stories to solicit donations for his charity, Depher (Disabled and Elderly, Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response), according to a BBC investigation.

The BBC alleges that Anderson has repeatedly used photos of the same dead woman in social media posts promoting Depher’s work. Additionally, the investigation claims Anderson filmed and shared videos and images of a vulnerable customer in his nineties, publicly disclosing the man’s sexuality despite his reported pleas against being filmed for social media. The unnamed customer reportedly told the BBC, “God no,” when asked for consent.

Depher claims to use donations for various purposes, including free food deliveries, covering gas and electricity bills, offering pro bono plumbing services, and even assisting with funeral costs for past clients. Anderson’s acts of charity gained significant public attention, attracting financial backing from celebrities like Hugh Grant and Lily Allen. He even secured an appearance on ITV’s “This Morning” to promote his work.

However, the BBC investigation raises questions about the legitimacy of Depher’s activities. The alleged misuse of photos and the disregard for a customer’s privacy cast a shadow on Anderson’s methods.

Anderson prevented one elderly woman from killing herself, the firm claimed. In fact, she had died years earlier.

He denied some of the BBC‘s allegations but admitted, “I’ve made mistakes.”

Since 2019, Depher has posted hundreds of stories about acts of kindness it says it has carried out.

The social media stories made him a viral sensation during the UK’s cost-of-living crisis and brought in at least 2 million pounds in donations, according to a BBC analysis of his company’s accounts.