Hopefully, from English cricket's point of view, it's a match made in heaven, says Anderson

One of the finest seam bowlers in the world, James Anderson, is hopeful that the new appointments in the form of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum will be able to turn the fortunes of England cricket.

With only one win in 13 Test matches in the World Test Championship 2021-23, England is languishing at the bottom of the points table. Earlier this year, they faced a shattering 0-4 loss to Australia in Ashes and 0-1 to West Indies in the away Test series. 

The disappointing performance forced Joe Root to step down from captaincy while the head coach Chris Silverwood was also being sacked. 

The veteran pacers Anderson and Stuart Broad were dropped from the squad for the Caribbean tour, but they are expected to be back into the Test set-up under a new regime. Anderson has picked up 11 wickets in three appearances, while Broad has eight wickets in two matches of the County Championship 2022 season. 

In a recent interview with Evening Standard, the 39-year pacer described McCullum as a "forward thinker' and hailed him for his out-0f-the-box strategies. 

"Brendon is someone I played a lot of cricket against, and since he's finished playing, I've spent a bit of time with him off the field as well. Seeing how he went about playing the game and captaining New Zealand, he was a real forward thinker. He thought out of the box," said Anderson. 

Anderson feels the appointments of Stokes and McCullum will infuse positive energy into the Test team, who are already stuttering for the past year in international cricket. 

"Knowing both of them as I do, it's a really positive move. They are positive thinking cricketers,"

Further, the veteran pacer thinks the all-rounder Stokes is energetic and passionate about doing well for English cricket. He hopes that the rounder's partnership with McCullum is a match made in heaven. 

"Ben will do the same with his captaincy, he's a very energetic bloke, passionate about English cricket, and he's just a born leader. Hopefully, from English cricket's point of view, it's a match made in heaven," added Anderson. 

The England team is scheduled to play a 3-match home Test series against New Zealand in the following month, which will undoubtedly be critical for their position in the WTC table and confidence.