Joe Root has revealed England are looking to move on from their record-breaking new-ball partnership of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad but insists it would be “stupid” to write either of them off individually.
Anderson is one of three changes for the must-win second Test against West Indies at Old Trafford starting on Thursday, with both he and Mark Wood rested after the four-wicket defeat last week and Joe Denly making way for Root’s return from paternity leave.
Stuart Broad, following his much-debated omission last week, is expected to replace Anderson with Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and the uncapped Ollie Robinson in contention for the third seamer’s slot on a pitch Root fancies will be good for batting.
The returning captain, who watched on as Ben Stokes led the team in his absence, said he had an input in Broad missing out in Southampton. It may now be that the 34-year-old and Anderson, 37, only occasionally appear together in the same side as the selectors look towards the future and the 2021-22 Ashes.
Root said: “With Stuart and Jimmy, trying to maximise their careers is really important to make sure they are playing for as long as possible. If that has to be slightly different to how it has been over the last few years, then we might have to think outside the box and not play them in every game or not play them together all the time.
“That is not to say it won’t happen again. They are two world-class performers and we are very very lucky to have them. I think to wish that away early or to push them to one side would be stupid, I really do. [But] I think we’ve got to deal with it well and be smart with it and we will find opportunities to play other guys, too.”
Anderson and Broad have shared 883 wickets from 116 Tests together (and an aggregate of 1,072 victims overall). But England clearly want to expose Jofra Archer to more time with the new ball and look at others with Robinson, a tall medium-fast bowler for Sussex who averages 22 in first-class cricket, one such example.
Although Anderson missed a Test on his home ground – and another chance to bowl from the end that bears his name – Old Trafford is the scene of the third Test against West Indies, as well as the series opener versus Pakistan on 5 August.
The omission of Denly has been on the cards since Zak Crawley’s accomplished 76 in the second innings in Southampton. Root thanked the 34-year-old for helping to set about England’s new-found desire to bat time but Dan Lawrence of Essex will likely be the batsman they look to next.
Elsewhere Root became the latest member of the set-up to share a belief that Jos Buttler can transfer his one-day form into the Test arena even if, after 42 caps and one century, patience must surely be starting to wear thin.
“I know we’re in a results business and I know we’re judged on performances,” Root said. “You look at the way he batted in the first innings [for 35] and that was as good as he has batted technically for a long time.
“I think his game is in a really good place. It’s just a matter of time before we see some of those special innings we’ve seen in white-ball cricket. He’s a big senior player in the dressing room across the formats and I just feel he’s not far away from grabbing Test cricket and really running with it.”
West Indies look set to name an unchanged team unless they believe Rakheem Cornwall’s off-breaks are required. The tourists sit one win away from a first series win in England since 1988 but their captain is not interested in the past.
Jason Holder said: “I haven’t mentioned anything about history to the guys. It’s hard for us [without getting] caught up in the peripheral stuff. We’re here to play cricket, we’re here to win this series.
“We’ve got control over the cricket we play, so that’s the only thing I’m going to shout to the guys: how are we going to win the game? Once the guys share that information to get the end result, afterwards we can feel pleased with what we’ve achieved as a group.”