Marnus Labuschagne of Australia has praised the “phenomenal” James Anderson, but he also maintains that England can manage without the all-time great as he gets ready to retire from Test cricket.
When England begins their three-match series against the West Indies at Lord’s in July, Anderson—who has taken 700 Test wickets, more than any other pace bowler in history—will play his 188th and final Test.
The 41-year-old decided to retire after being informed that they wanted to focus on the future by the England management, which includes Test captain Ben Stokes, director of cricket Rob Key, and head coach Brendon McCullum.
Despite the huge void, former world number one batter Labuschagne believes England’s bowling stocks are in good shape and has named four potential replacements for Anderson.
‘I think one thing for English cricket is you’ve got some really quality young bowlers coming through and that’s really exciting,’ said Labuschagne, who played in last summer’s Ashes series against England.
‘I mean the likes of [Matthew] Potts, [Josh] Tongue, Cookie [Sam Cook] from Essex, Ollie [Robinson], there’s some good talent and it will be nice to see English bowlers develop over the next few years.
