England captain Joe Root on Wednesday confirmed that veteran fast bowler James Anderson is "likely" to play in the second Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton which begins from Thursday onwards.
Retirement whispers had begun after England three-wicket win in Manchester against Azhar Ali's men where Anderson returned with 1 for 97. The sole wicket in the Test series too his tally to six this summer at 41.16. Statistically, it is has been his worst home summer.
But the 38-year-old had quashed the rumours saying that he is still "hungry" and will continue until the next Ashes Down Under.
On Wednesday, Root confirmed that England's leading wicket-taker will be part of the Southampton tie.
"Jimmy is likely to play, yes," Root confirmed before asking, rhetorically: "Wouldn't you give him the opportunity with
nearly 600 wickets?
"To get that stuff off his chest and talked about has definitely helped him. With Jimmy it won't be long before he's right back at the peak of his powers and I'm very much looking forward to him performing this week. I don't think it will be long before he's got another five-for beside his name."
Meanwhile, the squad has also included Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson, who has been called upon, for the second time this summer, as replacement for Ben Stokes who left the UK for New Zealand for family reasons.
"I think his performances have rightly given him the opportunity to be part of this squad," the skipper explained.
"It's a brilliant achievement for him to be part of this squad and testament to him for the performances he's put in for the last couple of years.
"Over a long period of time we're going to need a battery of fast bowlers and highly-skilled bowlers and he's definitely in that bracket.
"He's been wonderful for Sussex for a long period of time now and deserves to be where he is right now."
