James Anderson breaks silence on his omission: 'Hope this is not end of my career'

London, February 24: England pacer James Anderson has finally broken his silence after being dropped for the West Indies series, saying he is hoping that this is not the end of his career.

The veteran seamer who has 640 Test wickets to his name has said that he is hoping to win back his place in the Test squad.

"I'm praying this isn't the end. I've got one more go at digging deep. I've got a lot left to offer - I've still got the hunger and passion to play.

“It was a shock and a disappointment to get that call but having processed it, it's important I try to focus on the stuff I can control and that's showing people what I can do with the ball in my hand," Anderson said on the Tailenders Podcast, as reported by ICC.

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has also said that he is puzzled with Anderson and Stuart Broad's omission from the England Test squad.

"I can see why English cricket and selectors were a little bit frustrated they weren't able to have the same impact from a bowling perspective as the Australians did during the recent Ashes series," Watson said on the ICC Review show.

"But are the next breed of English bowlers coming through better than Broad and Anderson right now? In my eyes, no. So, I would have been picking them for the West Indies," he added.

Eight players - James Anderson, Dom Bess, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, and Dawid Malan - who featured in the recent Ashes series, have missed out on selection for the Test series against West Indies.