Last Updated on 7 months by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Geoffrey Boycott says England must move on from James Anderson before the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia
Former batsman Geoffrey Boycott believes England need to look beyond James Anderson before the next Ashes series to be held in Australia in 2025/26.
In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott wrote that England are picking the seamer on sentiment, particularly given his reduced role in recent series.
“Jimmy Anderson deserves all the adulation and plaudits for staying fit to play 187 Test matches and reach 700 wickets but, because of his age, he is used too sparingly,” said Boycott.
James Anderson won’t have enough in him to succeed in Australia in 2025 – Boycott
England will play six Tests against West Indies and Sri Lanka in their 2024 home season before visiting Pakistan and New Zealand. They will then host India at home in 2025.
However, Boycott looks at the Ashes as England’s next biggest assignment, especially given they have not win a single Test in Australia since January 2011. He believes there needs to be strong planning in place to ensure they have a well-rounded attack for Australian conditions.
“England cannot keep wrapping him [Anderson] in cotton wool and picking him on sentiment forever,” Boycott continued. “In a year-and-a-half England’s next big challenge will be going to Australia to try and win back the Ashes. Fast bowling is physically very demanding and eventually takes its toll on every bowler’s body.
“Jimmy will be 43 by the next Ashes and I don’t see him being able to do the hard yards on tough, bone hard pitches and in hot weather.”
Boycott wrote that the likes of Josh Tongue and Matt Potts need to be given more playing time to get used to the rigours of Test cricket.
“England have to find some young seamers who can bowl 20 overs and come back the next day ready for more,” said Boycott. “They need to be given matches before the team is selected for Australia. For example, Josh Tongue played at Lord’s against Australia and took five wickets and has never been seen again. Matt Potts 23 wickets in six Tests but has not played since the Ireland game last summer.”
Anderson, who became the first fast bowler in Test history to reach the incredible milestone of 700 wickets, bowled the fifth-most overs for England in their recent tour of India. Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root all bowled more, with Anderson finishing with ten wickets at 33.50.
The seamer also struggled for impact in the 2023 Ashes. The surfaces weren’t to his liking, where he finished with five wickets at an average of 85.4 in four Tests.
“Jimmy remains a great craftsman and he can give experience at one end while some new boys get bedded in at the other but before the Australia trip it will be time to nicely say ‘sayonara Jimmy, thank you for the memories. We have loved watching your skill but it is time to move on’”, concluded Boycott.
