James Anderson is spurred on by breaking Ian Botham's England Test wickets record
James Anderson: Less than 100 Test wickets behind Ian Botham
James Anderson has no intention of retiring from any form of cricket and has his sights set on Ian Botham's Test wickets record.
Seamer Anderson
turned 30 last summer and took his 529th career international wicket in Hamilton last weekend, passing Botham's mark to become England's most sucessful bowler of all-time.
Of those wickets, 288 have come in Tests and he could well break the 300 mark this summer in the Ashes if he doesn't manage it in away-and-home series against New Zealand, and he also feels Botham's record of 383 remains in sight if his body holds up.
turned 30 last summer and took his 529th career international wicket in Hamilton last weekend, passing Botham's mark to become England's most sucessful bowler of all-time.Of those wickets, 288 have come in Tests and he could well break the 300 mark this summer in the Ashes if he doesn't manage it in away-and-home series against New Zealand, and he also feels Botham's record of 383 remains in sight if his body holds up.
"It's a huge honour," he said of the all-time record. "Overtaking someone like Ian Botham is a massive achievement for me, and I'm very proud of it.
"It is hard to believe, and I also still can't believe I've been playing for 10 years.
"It's still all a bit of a dream come true, and I'm delighted to be still here playing - and I hope I can keep taking wickets for years to come.
"It's still all a bit of a dream come true, and I'm delighted to be still here playing - and I hope I can keep taking wickets for years to come.
Proud
"I'm really proud of where I've got to in my career and how many wickets I've taken. But I really want to try to keep doing what I've done well to get those wickets, and that's concentrate on the little things - each game and each spell I bowl.
"I hope then the wickets will just tot up, and I can look back at them fondly at the end of my career."
On breaking the Test record, he added: "If I stay fit for long enough and play for long enough, I think I can.
"The rotations system has worked pretty well so far; the players have been pretty happy with it. Obviously you want to play as much cricket as you can, because you're not going to play forever, but the management, who make these decisions, have got our best interests at heart.
"I've not been involved in the Twenty20s for a while, but I'd love to play all forms of the game if I could. The schedule probably doesn't allow it, especially with such a big year ahead, and there will be times when players have to be rested."
"I hope then the wickets will just tot up, and I can look back at them fondly at the end of my career."
On breaking the Test record, he added: "If I stay fit for long enough and play for long enough, I think I can.
"The rotations system has worked pretty well so far; the players have been pretty happy with it. Obviously you want to play as much cricket as you can, because you're not going to play forever, but the management, who make these decisions, have got our best interests at heart.
"I've not been involved in the Twenty20s for a while, but I'd love to play all forms of the game if I could. The schedule probably doesn't allow it, especially with such a big year ahead, and there will be times when players have to be rested."
Do you think he can break Beefy's record?
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