Follow UsJames Anderson is an all-time great in the longest format of the game. 689 Test wickets are symbolic of his greatness in Tests, but unfortunately, even for someone like Anderson, the ongoing Ashes has been nothing short of a failure. Across three Tests, the right-arm swing bowler has picked up just four wickets and has his worst numbers in a home Test series since his debut.
On more occasions than one, the Lancashire bowler has blown cold, making England’s bowling unit one-dimensional in his presence. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has called the decision to pick Anderson a very sentimental pick and insisted that it has cost the Three Lions, the ‘Ashes’.
"We all agreed that James Anderson deserved to have that sentimental pick because he's a legend of the game, but it may have cost England," Vaughan told the BBC's Ashes Daily podcast.
"Jimmy, in the three Test matches that he's played in this series, has just had no impact at all. I don't remember him getting a key wicket at any stage and that's very unlike Jimmy Anderson,” he added.
While plenty of debates have been on Jonny Bairstow’s performance behind the stumps, Vaughan reckoned that Anderson’s impact on the series has been next to nothing, and added that he sees no possibility of the right-arm pacer featuring in England’s best XI for the last Test at The Oval.
"We pick on Jonny [Bairstow] because he's dropped a few chances but we've got to be honest: Jimmy Anderson has played three games and has had no impact at all in this series, and it might just be that for The Oval, he might not be in England's best XI."
Despite being of similar ilk, Chris Woakes has shown that the extra zip that he generates has been lethal, and England were beneficiary of that in Leeds.
"Chris Woakes has almost showed us what can be done with the Dukes ball when you've got that zip because he's been going over the top with the seam and it's just been doing enough," Vaughan said.
"It's been wobble seam and a bit more action off the surface at a similar pace. It's not like Chris has been bowling three or four mph quicker than Jimmy. For whatever reason, Jimmy's not been getting that kiss off the surface that we've seen for many, many years."
While Anderson himself has come out criticising his own performance, Vaughan doesn’t see a future for the legendary bowler in this England setup, and furthermore even hinted at the end of Anderon’s England career.
"I just think Jimmy will make his own decision," Vaughan added. "I can't imagine he's going to be the type who is going to say 'this is my last Test and I'm going to retire at the end of it'. I don't think he'll let anybody know. I think he wants to carry on playing.
"He loves playing cricket, he loves bowling, he loves being out in the battle, he loves the dressing room. I think he'll find it very, very difficult to leave the game as a player. He's played on for such a long period of time, he clearly is absolutely in love with playing the game and his body is pretty good.