Is The Burnley Express Finally At The End Of The Ashes Line?

Peter Hayter fears the worst for England’s legendary bowler James Anderson after pulling up with a recurrence of a calf strain just four overs into his Ashes campaign

- Peter Hayter

There was Joe Root, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and channelling his pre-Ashes excitement, glory be, for the massed ranks of the BBC Breakfast audience, the England captain extolling the longevity of “our greatest-ever fast bowler” and assuring everyone that age is just a number.

There, two hours later, was James Anderson, running in to bowl the first ball of the 2019 Ashes at Edgbaston with the cries of “Oh Jimmy, Jimmy...” cascading down from the Eric Hollies stand.

And then there he was, four overs into his spell, feeling a return of the tightness in his calf that may have signalled that, for him, at 37 and two days, what must surely be his final series against Australia was already over, the words of his captain and those others who have predicted the Burnley Express will run until hell freezes over gone up in smoke.

If Edgbaston does turn out to be the venue for Anderson’s last bowl, not just in these matches, but, absolute worst-case scenario, for England, it would be fitting, for it was here, in 2015 that he returned his best Ashes figures of 6-47, blowing Australia away for 136 in a series-turning spell.

No doubt, bearing in mind how keenly he has tuned in to visualisation during his career, he would have recalled every moment of that, and quite a few more of the 104 Aussie wickets in his collection as he prepared for his eighth Ashes.

One suspects, actually, he has catalogued every single one of his 575 over 149 matches and the buzz he still gets from every wicket remains the reason for all the sacrifices he has made in 16 years of sweat and effort, glory and occasional heartache.