No sign of James Anderson calling time just yet as England keep the faith

It was at the Kia Oval five years ago that Alastair Cook finally walked away from Test cricket. A journey that began in 2006, against India in Nagpur, ended against the same opponents in 2018 down in south London. A century on both occasions, signing off with No.33, made the bookends extra neat.

Cook had put the word out well before that cap No. 161 would be his last. He informed his team-mates of the decision in the Ageas Bowl home changing-room as England celebrated winning the fourth Test which gave them the series. The official release itself, which came out after that fourth Test, was written by the BBC's cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, now a Test Match Special colleague.

The farewell could not have gone any better. England won, and Cook even had a helping hand with overthrows getting him to three figures, a rare occurrence in this absurd game packed full of variables. Cricket, for all its glory, for all they throw into it as players, and we as lovers, takes more than it gives. Even from those who have stood by the sport through thin and thinner.

All of which feels especially apt on the eve of this fifth Ashes Test, as debate rages about the long-term future of another English great. But James Anderson is not retiring, because he says so. And even if he was, he is hardly likely to give us advance warning.

The reason it's a thing? His four Ashes wickets at 76.75, the fact he turns 41 on Sunday, day four of this final Australia Test. During the Edgbaston Test, he did not take the new ball in the first innings - the first time in 14 years that has happened at home - and then went unused for the final 36.3 overs as Pat Cummins dragged Australia to a 1-0 lead.

He then dropped two doozies at Lord's, before returning to the XI at Emirates Old Trafford after missing the third Test, where he returned figures of one for 81 from 37 overs. As it happens, that homecoming was the first time that Anderson had taken the new ball without bowling the first over in a home Test since June 2016. In the debriefings after the Manchester rains, with England's Ashes hopes washed away, his former captain Michael Vaughan posited that sentimentality around Anderson might have cost the hosts this series.

Those in the dressing-room disagree. They believe Anderson has been unlucky; nicks flying wide of slips, the odd inside-edge missing the stumps and, of course, a dropped catch here and there. The pitches have not quite suited him, which is maybe highlighted by the fact that both sets of openers have had decent series, particularly Zak Crawley and Usman Khawaja, who are first and second in the run charts.

"He's quality, man," said Stokes, momentarily dropping the posher voice he adopts for press conferences for some real talk. "It's very hard for you guys to sit here and say he's not. Although he's not had the impact or the wickets he would have liked to in this series, he's a quality bowler and quality performer. Jimmy's come under a bit of flak for that but if Joe [Root] hadn't scored the runs he would have liked, you wouldn't be questioning him staying in the team as a batter. James Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game and he's still looking as good as he was two years ago, although he hasn't had the impact that he would have liked in this series."

In Anderson's latest column for The Telegraph on Monday, he stated that he loves "playing Test cricket as much as I ever have, and this is my favourite period as an England cricketer". And by all accounts, he is absolutely invested in all this.

It's there in his smiles throughout training, and his work behind the scenes. He has been working as an unofficial bowling coach for a good while, and many of his "students" are team-mates in the current squad. He taught both Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson the wobble-seam, and has now taken new kid on the block Josh Tongue under his wing.

Maybe it's worth stating here that, according to CricViz, Anderson's expected average - what he might have in a perfect world - is 34.3. Moreover, it was only last summer, with a woeful Dukes on flat pitches, that Anderson registered 27 dismissals at 17.66. And eight months since he took eight wickets at 18.50 in Pakistan on some of the most unresponsive surfaces you've ever seen.

But this is no perfect world, and as he gears up for what he hopes will be a first Ashes Test victory since Edgbaston 2015 to square this series 2-2, the end feels more unavoidable than ever before. Regardless whether it comes sooner or later.

At the end of Cook's farewell, Anderson was interviewed on Sky to gauge his immediate thoughts. As it happens, he had taken the final wicket of the match, taking out Mohammed Shami's off stump to move to 564 career dismissals, one ahead of Glenn McGrath and, thus, out in front as the leading fast bowler in the history of Test cricket.

Anderson was visibly emotional, failing to suppress tears as he contemplated life beyond Cook, so much so that Ian Ward decided to cut short their interview. Later Cook, amid questions of the legacy he himself was leaving behind, declared his mate "the best cricketer England have ever produced".

Five years on from that assessment, it rings truer as he sits on 689 wickets. And the tears won't just be Anderson's when he finally ends a career that has given so much to so many. The doubt, however, is whether he is currently in England's best XI. For now, Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director of cricket Rob Key seem to think so. Theirs are the opinions that matter.

When you're an athlete operating outside the usual age-range of your chosen pursuit, the mind is your strongest tool. Where it goes, the body follows, and for now, Anderson's bloody-mindedness is keeping him in the mix while the tips of his fingers, wrist and the swirl of those whippy arms are faltering.

Nevertheless, the mind does wander ... how will the end come about? It's hard to imagine Anderson taking a page from Cook's book when it comes to announcing his retirement. He's hardly likely to do it in advance to set up a leaving party Test, nor will he lean on a media pal to workshop a goodbye. Then again, how funny would it be if England's greatest cricketer bowed out via a voice note from "Mattchin Tendulkar" on the Tailenders WhatsApp group?

None of that seems his vibe. Instead, one imagines it'll be a bit like the end of Good Will Hunting.

English cricket will knock on his door one day and get no answer. Perhaps in the form of a central contract list dropping without his name, or simply a photo of his bowling boots strung up on a peg along with a note as he drives off into the sunset. "Sorry, I had to go see about life."

And after the initial sadness passes, the gratitude for what he brought, the scale of what he achieved and the pride that he was English will live on forever. For now, so long as English cricket keeps knocking, Anderson will continue to answer.