Anderson, of course, would have loved to keep going. He has been in fabulous form for Lancashire this season, claiming 48 wickets at 18.47 in the County Championship, with the likes of Alastair Cook and Ricky Ponting calling for him to continue.
But England’s new dawn is not about Anderson. It is about developing the likes of Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Craig Overton, Saqib Mahmood and Brydon Carse as the next generation of seam bowlers.
Anderson will be missed, no doubt about it. He is a once-in-a-generation cricketer, who has been England’s rock for so long. But even he knows when the time is right to step aside.
And so, as the sun set on Anderson’s Test career, it was a fitting end for a player who has given so much to English cricket. He may not have had the fairytale finish he desired, but he leaves the game as a true legend.
His skill, his experience, his ability to swing the ball both ways, his mastery of seam movement – all will be hard to replace. And while the focus may now be on younger, faster quicks, there is no denying the impact Anderson has had on English cricket.
Whether the decision to move on from him was made too soon remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain – James Anderson will go down as one of the greatest fast bowlers England has ever produced.