England will take optimism after great series but Anderson must make right call

It has been an incredible Ashes series, and if England didn’t end up with the urn they certainly ended it with the momentum after clawing back from 2-0 down. I was at the Oval for two days of the final Test and it was really striking how engaged and enthused the public were by the contest and the way England were going about it. As a former player I’m often invited into the hospitality area at lunch and you can really tell how engrossed people are with the cricket by how long they linger after play has restarted – at the Oval they left almost immediately.

It helps that the media narrative around Ben Stokes and his team is so positive. I remember the old days when Bob Willis, Ian Botham and others were always very critical of the England side, but some broadcasters have worked out that positivity makes for a better, more enjoyable product. At the moment this is working for everyone: we have an attacking team that is getting good results, commentators who are thrilled with what they are seeing, fans who are hugely supportive – and record viewing figures.

Since falling 2-0 down England have been entertaining and effective, and having played so well against an excellent Australia side they move forward now with real optimism. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook are all batters in their mid‑20s who are established in the group and have good international experience. The hard work England did in establishing them and giving them confidence before the Ashes paid off in spades once the action got under way.

The bowling group for the last Test – Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood – are all at least 33 but the process of integrating a fresh generation with an eye on the trip to India in the new year and beyond has already begun and will surely now step up.

Sometimes players have the raw attributes but need an opportunity at the highest level to find out what it’s like, to face the toughest opponents and raise their game. You never know whether a player has what it takes to shine as an international until you see them try.

Josh Tongue has not particularly stood out with the amount of wickets he’s taken at county level but he has the attributes – height, pace and bounce – and has shown that when given an opportunity he is able to handle the stage and perform. Matt Potts burst on to the scene last summer and brought energy and vibrancy to the England attack. They are two young candidates pushing hard for more regular inclusion in the team and there are more where they came from.

Broad might have seen the writing on the wall when he announced his retirement – he’s a smart cookie, very insightful about the game, and he handled his moment beautifully. He decided to step away with everyone wanting more, completely on his side, and celebrating his wonderful career, and then created the fairytale finish by taking the last wicket in his last game. Broad has always loved the big stage and he couldn’t have written that script any better.

Broad created a fairytale finish with the final wickets of the match. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Anderson clearly feels there’s plenty left in the tank despite his modest return in this series, but I fear he’s in a losing fight with father time. He’s a different personality, quite introverted, and he may not want the big fanfare his career deserves. I just hope he gets this last call right, because I certainly did not.

I remember Graham Gooch telling me: “One day you’ll wake up and you’ll know the time has come.” But I got up every morning conditioned to train, play and practise, and had no idea when the time came. One day I went to the Oval, where I was told Surrey weren’t going to pick me and I could go on loan if I wanted, and that’s probably what I would have done if I hadn’t been due to meet Justin Langer. I told him the situation and point blank he said: “You’ve got to retire.”

I needed someone of that stature, someone I knew and trusted and whose opinion I valued, to spell it out for me and it was only then that I had clarity. I don’t necessarily think Anderson should retire now, but sportspeople need to have that clarity or someone close to them who can provide it, and I hope he has that.

Talking of things that refuse to grow old, there has been some controversy about the replacement ball used by England as they ripped through Australia in that last innings. As a top-order batter you work hard to get the ball old – the phrase often used is “earning the right to dominate”. You back your defence, leave the ball well, get through the opening spells of a team’s best fast bowlers, in the knowledge you’ll reap the rewards when the ball gets older. But sometimes a senior player on the fielding side will complain to the umpire about the ball, maybe two or three times, and eventually the umpire relents, calls for the box of balls and plucks out one that’s different in nature.

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There might not be a very wide selection. They might choose one that’s harder, shinier, maybe even from a different year – and we have seen how different batches of Dukes balls can perform very differently.

The way the ball Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena picked on Sunday evening behaved was nothing like any of the other balls used in the series, and I can understand why some Australians have complained.

Harry Brook is part of a young group of established England players to take the team forward. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

When the players emerged after the rain break on the final day they were 238 for three and looked on course for the win, but I watched Woakes bowl the next over and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Woakes bowled beautifully, but Steve Smith couldn’t get a bat on it. This ball, which was supposed to be 66 overs old, looked shiny and hard and never really changed character.

It is a frustration, but it is part of the sport that not all balls are the same and what drama this one brought. It’s better not to dwell on the controversies, and to bask instead in the euphoria of a wonderful game of cricket, a great advertisement for the game, and the end of a fabulous series.