James Anderson 'praying' for England recall after West Indies axe

London — England great James Anderson hopes his record-breaking international career has not been ended following his dramatic omission from the upcoming tour of the West Indies.

Both Anderson and Stuart Broad, England's two all-time leading Test wicket-takers, have been left out of next month's three-match series in the Caribbean as part of a major shake-up following a humiliating 4-0 loss in Australia.

The controversial call was made by a selection panel headed by interim director of cricket Andrew Strauss — his predecessor Ashley Giles and England coach Chris Silverwood were both sacked after the Ashes debacle.

But even though he will turn 40 in July, Anderson — whose 640 Test wickets are the most taken by any fast bowler in history — said Wednesday he had no plans to retire.

"It's been a weird couple of weeks," Anderson told the BBC Tailenders podcast. "I've just been trying to process what's gone on. Obviously it was a bit of a shock and a disappointment to get that call to say I am not going.

"I'm praying this isn't the end."

'Not losing anything'

Anderson, in contrast to the conventional wisdom that says quicker bowlers decline after turning 35, believes he is getting better with age — and the figures prove him right.

Not only was Anderson's average of 23.37 in the Ashes the lowest of all England's bowlers, in the 44 Tests since his 35th birthday he has taken 160 wickets at a miserly 21.72.

"I do still feel like I've got a lot to offer," he said. "Since I've turned 35 my record's got even better so I know that I'm not slowing down, I'm not losing anything.

"I've got one more go at digging deep, I've dug deep quite a lot over the last 20 years but I still love playing the game, I still loved bowling out in