James Anderson, the England speedster is under the scrutiny as his performance has been below par in the last three matches he has played. The 38-year-old is the highest wicket-taking fast bowler of all time with 590 scalps under his name and with age being a factor, he has seen media criticising him a lot.

Recently after long speculations about his retirement from international cricket, Anderson denied the reports of him calling it off. Notably, the right-armer has taken only 6 wickets in his last three outings. The reports of him getting dropped from the team for the second Test against Pakistan also got some interest.

With Mark Wood, a strong performer of recent times sitting on the bench, everyone in the English pace-bowling troop has to be on their toes. However, all the rumours of his ouster from the team were put to rest by captain Joe Root in the pre-match press conference.

The skipper said that it is wrong to question the ability of a senior bowler like Anderson. He also ascertained his place in the side for the second Test against Pakistan in Southampton. Root also depicted his trust in the veteran bowler’s consistency and ever magical wicket-taking ability. “To question Jimmy’s ability, his record… do that at your own peril,” Root said.

“There’s a reason he’s got so many wickets over such a long period — he’s a consistent performer. I don’t think it’ll be long until he’s back among the wickets big time. It’ll be very silly for us to write to someone like Jimmy off. He’s still as dedicated as ever, working hard at his game and looking good in practice,” Root stated.

It’s easy to look at the statistics, says Root on James Anderson

The seamer also had an honest conversation with his skipper about his dip in form during the opening Test. This also shows us the trust and clarity English camp have among themselves. The captain also mentioned that even for experienced players, there are some days when they don’t feel the best about their game.

“We had an honest conversation… to get that off his chest and to talk about it has helped him. It shows even the greats of the game still have those days when it doesn’t always come as naturally to you… it can be a real struggle sometimes. It’s easy to look at the statistics and not have a more broad view on how things are actually going,” Root added.