James Anderson sets date for England retirement

According to reports in The Guardian, Anderson has been informed by the England management that the team need to look to the future

James Anderson could be entering the final summer of his Test career.

According to reports in The Guardian, Anderson has been informed by the England management that the team need to look to the future. And with an Ashes series now 18-months away, it has been agreed that Anderson should bow out at the end of the summer.

That would signal the end of one of the great careers. Anderson, who will be 42 in July, has claimed 700 wickets - almost a hundred more than any other seamer in the history of Test cricket - in a Test career which dates back to 2003. While a little of the pace he had as a young man has deserted him, he has more than compensated with an array of new tricks. Few would dispute he is one of England's greatest bowlers.

But success in English Test cricket is, rightly or wrongly, largely defined by Ashes series. And the England management have long vouched for the importance of pace on Australian wickets. While Anderson, even at the age of 43, could probably be relied upon to bowl tidily, the ethos of the current team is more about aggression and risk and pace. Young, quicker bowlers will be tried in his place.

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^{Anderson is the leading wicket-taker among seam bowlers in Test cricket [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

^{Stuart Broad retired last summer [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

Whether they are better is debatable. Even on the recently concluded tour of India, Anderson took more wickets than any of England's other seamers (10 at 33.50) and was the most economical bowler on either side (to have played more than one Test). His boots will take some filling.

That would leave Anderson with a maximum of six Tests left in his career. One of those - the first Test of the series against Sri Lanka - would be at his home ground of Emirates Old Trafford with the final Test of the summer at the Kia Oval.

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There has been speculation about Anderson's position in recent weeks. There had been rumours that the England management wanted to move on and some suggestion they hoped he would announce his retirement.

According to that Guardian report, though, it took the arrival of Brendon McCullum, who made a brief visit to the UK in recent days, to break the news to Anderson over a round of golf.

Anderson, who was at Trent Bridge for the first day of Lancashire's match against Nottinghamshire on Friday, is part of the BBC commentary team for the T20I between England and Pakistan on Saturday. He is expected to discuss his future then.

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