James Anderson wants to prolong his Test career with England but David Gower believes the seamer "might just be lying to himself" on his future.
Anderson is the leading wicket-taker for seam bowlers in men's Test match history but struggled for large parts of the Ashes against Australia, who retained the urn with a 2-2 series draw.
The 41-year-old managed just five wickets across four Tests, one fewer than England's part-time off-spinner Joe Root, as Anderson struggled to trouble Australian batters.
Stuart Broad finished as England's leading wicket-taker after 22 dismissals and called time on his career, with Gower suggesting it may be time for Anderson to do the same.
"Jimmy wants to prolong his career literally as long as possible," former England captain Gower told Stats Perform. "He is so adamant that thoughts on retirement are not in his mind.
"I don't know Jimmy personally that well, but I suspect that's just because he loves being part of a team.
"Nowadays, you manage workloads, and that management has allowed Jimmy Anderson to still be playing international cricket at the age of 41. He loves it so much he doesn't want to give it away.
"The slight issue could be that people will look at his figures in this series. He's beaten the bat, yes, not as often as normal. He's had catches dropped off his bowling, which always infuriates and also makes the figures look worse, of course, but there's been just a little tiny downturn in the way he's bowled.
"At some stage, you have to say right we need to look ahead to the next generation. [Josh] Tongue, for instance, came in and looked pretty good. He's sharper than Anderson.
"Will Jimmy Anderson want to go to India where there's every likelihood that five pitches might be turning pitches? They're not going to be Jimmy Anderson pitches, I would suspect.
"If he wants to go to India, fair play to him. But selectors might at this stage be thinking now is the time that we have to have a quiet word in his ear.
"You maybe miss India, ostensibly, you could still keep the door open. He might be worried that they might tap him on the shoulder.
"He may say to the rest of the world: 'No, no, no, I'm absolutely fine, still got years left in me' – but he might just be lying to himself."
England captain Ben Stokes has repeatedly reiterated his desire to keep Anderson within the Test setup, with the former and coach Brendon McCullum placing their full backing in the seam bowler.
Regardless of whether Anderson – who has 690 wickets in red-ball internationals – continues, Gower believes the England veteran's legacy will remain intact.
"For Anderson, if this is the end for him, and it's still a very big if, you still look back on 20 years with extraordinary figures," Gower added.
"Even just look back to the winter, his figures in the winter, on very, very good batting pitches. In Pakistan, he played a full part in what was a great team effort winning a series, 3-0 in Pakistan, which in my time, that didn't happen.
"You had dead games on good pitches, maybe two-and-a-half innings in the entire game that was it, dull draws. England made those wins happen.
"They had to take wickets at key times and Jimmy was part of that. So you look back over 20 years and say it's an extraordinary, almost unbelievable record that sticks to his name."
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
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