Geoffrey Boycott calls for England to look beyond veteran pacer James Anderson

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has made a big statement, calling Ben Stokes & Co. to look beyond star pacer James Anderson. Anderson recently became the first-ever pacer to claim 700, or more, wickets in Tests during the India series. However, he had an ordinary run in the five-match series versus Rohit Sharma-led hosts, ending with 10 wickets in four games. Boycott believes England 'cannot keep wrapping Anderson in cotton wool and picking him on sentiment forever'.

In his coloumn for The Telegraph, Boycott expressed disappointment in how England used Anderson in the India series and feels they under-bowled him, reducing his impact. He wrote, "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. England cannot keep wrapping him in cotton wool and picking him on sentiment forever."

Boycott further opined that Anderson isn't someone who would be very useful Down Under when England tour Australia in 2025/26 for the Ashes. Hence, he feels the team management needs to bring in pacers who can bowl long spells on placid surfaces. Thus, he reckoned, "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."

Boycott added, "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."

At present, Anderson has not talked about his retirement plans. Talking about Stokes-led England, they are languishing in the eighth place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table with six defeats from 10 games. Thus, they are moving closer to being eliminated from the race to reach the WTC 2023-25 cycle's finale.