James Anderson to continue in fast bowling coach role

James Anderson will continue his role as fast-bowling mentor in England's series against Pakistan in October.

Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, retired from international cricket following the first Test against West Indies in July.

The 42-year-old immediately joined the England backroom team and remains on a central contract until the end of this month. Working in the coaching staff for the three-Test series against Pakistan would extend Anderson's relationship with the England side beyond his current deal.

Anderson also told Sky Sports he was planning on joining England for their series in New Zealand in December.

"At the minute, I'm due to go to Pakistan and New Zealand in the winter," he said. "Then nothing concrete after that.

"I'm very new to this, I'm still learning as we go. It's partly me trying to figure out if this is where I want to go with the next stage of my career and also for them to figure out if I'm any good at it."

Anderson retired from Test cricket following discussions with England captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key in April, with the management deciding they wanted to look to younger fast bowlers.

In Anderson's absence, Gus Atkinson has taken 33 wickets in his first five Tests, while Matthew Potts and Olly Stone have returned to the Test side.

In the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval, England have handed a debut to 20-year-old Josh Hull, a 6ft 7in left-armer from Leicestershire with only 16 wickets from 10 first-class matches.

Anderson worked with Hull during the second Test at Lord's, when Hull was an unused member of the England squad.

"There was a great moment at Lord's where you saw Josh Hull bowling in the middle and Jimmy standing at the top of his mark,"

"You think 'how good this is' - all of that knowledge, you don't want to lose that. He is able to pass it on.

"Jimmy is not always the most outgoing, but he has really taken to coaching.

"It would be great to have Jimmy in Pakistan, the same in New Zealand and who knows going forward. Jimmy has a few itches to scratch along the way but it is great to have him involved with us."

Anderson has previously indicated an interest in continuing his playing career in T20 franchise leagues, despite not featuring in white-ball cricket since 2019.