Living legend No one I have met has loved playing for England more than Jimmy Anderson

There were times during my Test career, sitting in the dressing room reflecting on things quietly, when I almost could not believe how lucky I was to be in the same England team as Jimmy Anderson.

- Moeen Ali

He really is a once-in-a-generation cricketer and, in my mind, the greatest seam bowler of all time.

The crazy thing is, I made my Test debut in 2014 when Jimmy was 31. So he was already 11 years an international, just short of 100 caps. He had won the Ashes home and away, formed an all-time great partnership with Stuart Broad and been central to a historic series win in India two years earlier. In that match, against Sri Lanka at Lord's, he took seven wickets to bring up 350 Test wickets and apparently that was only a job half done. What a ridiculous player. A joke, really.

Jimmy always had this reputation for being grumpy and as a newcomer, who had watched him on the television growing up, I was a little bit intimidated before we met; not scared but a bit unsure of what he would be like. But right from day one, even having played with so many players by this stage and been so close with Graeme Swann, who I had come into the side for, he was really good with me.

In more than 50 Tests together since then there wasn't a day where we fell out, on or off the field.

And to be fair, I am someone who likes to take the mickey in the dressing room. Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Broady... the size of the reputation doesn't usually matter to me. We laughed a lot over the years - saying hello to him every morning in a different voice was my thing - but I never gave him any stick. Why? Because he is Jimmy Anderson.