Anderson set to mentor England's quicks after Test exit

England great James Anderson will join the team's backroom staff as a fast-bowling mentor when he retires from Test cricket following next week's series opener against the West Indies at Lord's.

James Anderson (Image Source: Google)

'Wrong direction' -

Key added Bairstow, 34, "needs to get back to what he was a couple of years ago", when the Yorkshireman hit six Test centuries in 2022.

Bairstow, however, has struggled lately after nearly a year out of the game following a horrifying leg break in a freak accident on a golf course.

"Generally his form, in all formats, has just been going slightly in the wrong direction," said 45-year-old former England batsman Key.

"It's an arduous task being a keeper and you want someone who can back up series after series. We weren't convinced that Jonny would be able to do that, especially at the stage of his career that he's at."

Key was speaking for the first time since defending champions England's defeat by India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

England won just one of their four matches against fellow Test sides during a tournament in the Caribbean and the United States following a woeful defence of their 50-over World Cup title in India last year.

Those reverses have called into question the positions of England white-ball captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott.

But Key said he would take his time regarding their future ahead of England's next white-ball series against Australia in September.

"I'm not going to rush anything on that," he said.

"At times I thought we showed how good we were and at times we were inconsistent. We'll let the dust settle on the World Cup and then move forward from there."