James Anderson refused to rest on his laurels after becoming the first paceman to take 600 Test wickets as he revealed England captain Joe Root wanted him to feature in the 2021/22 Ashes tour of Australia.
Anderson became only the fourth bowler after three retired spinners - Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets), Australia's Shane Warne (708) and India's Anil Kumble (619) - to achieve the feat when he had Pakistan captain Azhar Ali well caught by first slip Root at the Ageas Bowl Tuesday.
Anderson will be nearly 40 when England begin their quest to regain the urn from their arch-rival.
But although he has now played a mammoth 156 Tests, Anderson insisted there was no reason why he couldn't still be a key member of England's attack Down Under.
At 38, Anderson - an England international for 17 years - is already at an age where many pacemen of previous generations have long since retired.
But his hunger for wickets shows no sign of being sated, even though he has already enjoyed the rare experience for an England cricketer of starring in a victorious Ashes campaign in Australia, in 2010/11.
While England were able to stage “bio-secure” series against both Pakistan and the West Indies this season, there is no certainty as to when they will next play a Test amid the coronavirus pandemic.
