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Xtra Time Web Desk: In a candid revelation, England's managing director, Rob Key, shed light on the discussions between head coach Brendon McCullum, skipper Ben Stokes, and himself with veteran pacer James Anderson regarding his retirement from Test cricket.

Key disclosed that they conveyed to Anderson the team's intention to groom new fast bowlers, prompting the decision for him to step aside.

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Anderson's retirement announcement on Saturday (11th May) came as a surprise, given his recent expressions of desire to continue playing for England in the longest format. However, it was revealed that McCullum personally traveled from New Zealand to address the matter with Anderson, emphasizing the team's strategic shift towards building for the future.

Following the discussions, Anderson took to Instagram to confirm his retirement plans, indicating that the first Test against West Indies on 10th July would mark his farewell appearance.

Key further elaborated that the conversations, spanning an hour, took place in a hotel setting, catching Anderson off guard with the unexpected topic of retirement. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he provided insights into the deliberations and the rationale behind the decision.
When we made the decision and we thought, 'OK, we need to go and meet Jimmy and discuss the future', Brendon concluded that the right thing to do was to fly over to England [from New Zealand]. 

"The three of us went up to see him: myself and Brendon caught the train up from London, and Stokesy was in Manchester, getting ready to fly out to America for a family holiday. We all met Jimmy in a hotel near the station and we had a conversation for about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don't think Jimmy was expecting it, but I don't think it was completely unexpected."

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We just sort of said, 'look, I think it's time for us to move on- Rob Key on conversations with James Anderson 
Rob Key revealed that after conversations with James Anderson, the fast bowler stated that he would be retiring at Lord's. He added that they told fast bowlers that they needed to prepare new bowlers. He elaborated: 

"In the back of his mind, he knew that the time was coming, and we discussed lots of different things as well, and the future for Jimmy after playing… we didn't impress upon him that he had to make the decision there, and then not so long ago, he decided that the Lord's game was going to be his last.