Joe Root has confessed that he'll "terribly miss playing alongside" James Anderson now that the 41-year-old has retired from international cricket.
The opening Test of the English summer against West Indies at Lord's was Anderson's last international appearance but the 41-year-old will remain associated with the Test team for the rest of the summer.
The former England skipper is sad to see the 188-Test veteran hang his boots but feels that his presence in the dressing room for the remaining games against Windies and the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home "will be great for the young bowlers coming through".
"For me, all I've ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that's been for 12 years," Root was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"It's a bit of a weird one, seeing Stuart (Broad) go last year and (now) Jimmy. I'll terribly miss playing alongside him, but the fact that he'll be around for the summer will be great for the young bowlers coming through and for us to keep using that experience and everything else he has to offer the dressing room. I'm really pleased that he's been able to have the send-off that he deserves but also, it's in some ways, a little bit sad to see him go."
Root is cognizant of the challenge that lies ahead of England in the form of the Ashes 2025-26. He feels that irrespective of the planning and preparations to get the best results, "it still has to fall in place".
"It's a new opportunity for us. We did what we thought was the right thing at the time. We'll be in a completely different place going into next time. I think the key is, you can plan and you can have all the best intentions of getting a result, it still has to fall into place."
Root feels that Gus Atkinson will be the key to England's chances of winning the Ashes down under as he can move the ball around at a high pace.
"When teams have gone out there what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl at the late 80s and early 90s [mph] and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace. It was great to see him come in and do that on such a slow wicket here."
