ENG vs PAK | Will inevitably get dropped if I keep bowling the way I’ve been, admits James Anderson

When James Anderson called for a press conference earlier today, rumours floated that the veteran pacer was going to announce his retirement, given his bad run of form thus far this season. After claiming a three-wicket haul in the first innings of the summer, Anderson has picked up just three wickets in his last five innings and given the fact that he’s not getting any younger, there were a few murmurs that the veteran was going to hang up his boots.

The Lancashire man, however, earlier today, put all rumours to bed and insisted that he was hungry as ever and was looking forward to playing as long as he can. But the veteran acknowledged his poor performance thus far this season and stated that he would inevitably get dropped if he continues performing ‘badly’ the way he has been, of late.

"No absolutely not. I am still hungry to play the game. The frustration for me has been after one bad game, the whispers that go around. I don't think that's fair," Anderson told reporters earlier today, quashing rumors about a potential retirement.

"I want to play as long as I possibly can. If I keep bowling the way I did this week, the opportunity to retire will be taken out of my hands. It will be a selection issue. But, for me, I'm still hungry.

"As I said, it was one bad game and I'm sure I'll have another bad game in my career. I just don't want every time I have a bad game for there to be whispers going round that I'm going to pack in. For me it's about trying to find a way of dealing with that, dealing with the outside noise. I've done that really well in my career, but it's a little bit different now."

With the second Test at the Ageas Bowl just three days away, Anderson’s place in the side is not certain, especially with Chris Woakes stepping up with both bat and ball, and the veteran revealed that he’ll work as hard as he can over the next couple of days in an attempt to retain his place in the side. Anderson, who returned figures of 1/97 in the first Test, added that at Old Trafford, for the first time in over a decade, he felt ‘frustrated’ and ‘emotional’ on the field. 

"It's been a frustrating week for me personally because I have not bowled very well, I felt out of rhythm," he said. "Probably for the first time in ten years, I got a little bit emotional on the field, started getting frustrated, let that get to me a little bit. When you get frustrated and a little bit angry, you try and bowl quicker and quicker. That doesn't help on the field.

"For me, it's a case of trying to work really hard the next couple of days, try to figure out of there are any technical issues I can sort out. Hope that I get the nod for the next game and I can try and show people I have still got what it takes to play Test cricket.”