James Anderson’s much-awaited return to Test cricket lasted just two Test matches as a rib injury ruled him out of the South Africa tour. The veteran cricketer is yet to play a competitive match since then and is all set to stay out of action for another two months as England Cricket Board has suspended all forms of cricket until May 28, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The deadly virus even threatens to cancel the county championship and Royal London One-Day Cup and there could be a case when Anderson, who doesn’t play T20s, might not get to play any cricket during the season. Despite that, he is still confident of making a comeback and hopes to play for England after the end of coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve not actually thought about never playing cricket again. I feel like we will play again and I will play again at some stage. I’m still hungry to play, I’ve still got ambitions to play for England. So I think that’s going to keep me driven at home trying to keep fit, so that whenever it is we play again I’m ready to go,” he said in a conference call.
Anderson had made himself available for the England tour of Sri Lanka but the selectors opted against selecting him. With 584 scalps in 151 Tests, Anderson is already England’s highest wicket-taker in the longest format and is just 16 wickets away from claiming 600 wickets.
England are scheduled to play West Indies, Pakistan and India in 2020/21 season. Since there will not cricket in the UK until May 28, there are high chances of the West Indies series being postponed.
