James Anderson is eager to return to the Test team under Ben Stokes’ leadership

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Anderson under Ben Stokes
Image Source: Stumpsandbails

Ben Stokes, the newly-appointed England captain, has provided the clearest signal yet that James Anderson and Stuart Broad will return to Test cricket right away, confirming that the out-of-favor pair are part of his plans for the forthcoming series against New Zealand. Here in this article, we have discussed Anderson under Ben Stokes’ Leadership, Eager to return to the Test team in detail.

Anderson and Broad were controversially left out of England’s Caribbean trip against the West Indies earlier this year, with selectors opting to give the next generation of seam bowlers more opportunity.

During the series, England was defeated 1-0 by the West Indies, and star hitter Joe Root stepped down as captain immediately after the squad returned home, leaving many questions about the future of the team.

England’s men’s team has since named Rob Key as their new managing director, and Stokes as their Test captain, with the short-term futures of their two leading wicket-takers looking brighter ahead of a hectic summer schedule.


For the first time since being named captain on Tuesday, Stokes stated that he wants to restore England’s winning mentality and that he intends to do so with Anderson and Broad by his side this summer.

Stokes told BBC Sport, “I want to win cricket games for England.” “The simplest way to achieve it is to choose your strongest XI, and Stuart Broad and James Anderson, in my opinion, should be eligible for selection if they are healthy.”

Stokes had stated that he would have a big influence on who would be named vice-captain of the Test team, but he quickly dismissed Root as a candidate for the position.

Instead, he’ll let Root focus on his batting in the hopes of adding to his 25 Test hundreds and current MRF Tyres Men’s ICC Test Batting Rankings ranking of fourth.

But, with Stokes saying that he will favor ‘selfless’ individuals who want to win games of cricket for England, it’s unclear who else will make the cut for England’s first Test of the summer against New Zealand, which begins on June 3 at Lord’s.

“I want selfless cricketers who make decisions based on winning the game of cricket for England,” Stokes further added.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning. I want to be part of a team that has that real mentality, that doesn’t take a backward step.”