Ben Stokes refuses to explain his decision to end Jimmy Anderson's Test career for fear of being accused of 'ageism' as he persists with 35-year-old Chris Woakes despite Lord's struggle

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England embark on life after Jimmy Anderson on Thursday, with skipper Ben Stokes reluctant to explain the decision to usher him into retirement for fear of sounding 'ageist'.

The second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge will instead provide Chris Woakes with the chance to lead the attack on his 50th appearance, and confirm the selectors were right to stick with him while dispensing with Anderson.

Woakes said after England's innings win at Lord's that he did not rule out making the trip to Australia in 16 months' time, despite averaging 51 with the ball in his seven Tests there.

But when Stokes was asked why the 35-year-old Woakes was being treated differently to the 41-year-old Anderson if neither had any realistic prospect of taking part in the next Ashes, he hesitated, before saying: 'I don't know how to explain it properly without being ageist.'

For those already furious that Anderson has had his career ended against his will, the sight of him helping out at training at a venue where his 73 Test wickets cost just 19 apiece cannot have soothed tempers.

England embark on life after Jimmy Anderson (left) on Thursday

The second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge will instead provide Chris Woakes (left) with the chance to lead the attack on his 50th appearance

Yet with the 34-year-old Mark Wood, who has been preferred to uncapped Nottinghamshire quick Dillon Pennington, long earmarked for Australia, England clearly could not risk taking three veterans on a gruelling five-match tour.

And to judge from last summer's Ashes, they had little choice: while Anderson's five wickets in the series cost 85 each, it was Woakes (with 19 at 18) and Wood (14 at 20) who changed the course of the summer after coming in for the third Test at Headingley.

Stokes insisted that everyone in the current squad is 'in contention' for the Ashes, and described the notion that Woakes's overseas career was finished as 'not as cut and dry as that'.

In reality, England have simply settled on the two senior bowlers they believe have offered more in the last year, having taken the view that Anderson was finished at the highest level.

The decision to give the new ball in this Test to Woakes and Gus Atkinson, whose 12-wicket haul on debut at Lord's was almost lost amid the Anderson fanfare, is a show of faith in both men.

Woakes gets the chance to prove that his below-par display at Lord's was not a sign of things to come, with Stokes pointing out that the recent death of his father, Roger, had created 'a lot of emotion' during the week of the game — more than onlookers realised.

Atkinson, meanwhile, will open the bowling for only the fifth red-ball game in his career — and for the first time since May 2022. But England are excited about unleashing him and Wood in the same game against demoralised opponents who were skittled at Lord's for 121 and 136 in a total of 88.4 overs — the equivalent of a day.

'You ask any batter in the world, whether it be Joe Root, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne,' said Stokes. 'Pace is a massive weapon that makes you do different things. It makes you think differently.'

When Stokes was asked why Woakes was being treated differently to Anderson, he hesitated, before saying: 'I don't know how to explain it properly without being ageist'

For those furious Anderson has had his career ended against his will, the sight of him helping out at training at a venue where his 73 Test wickets cost just 19 apiece cannot have helped

Trent Bridge, of course, is where the Bazball revolution properly began two years ago, when Jonny Bairstow hammered New Zealand to all corners on the final afternoon of the second Test. Only four members of that team will play here but, if the personnel has changed, the mood has not. And England will now be on the attack with the ball, as well as the bat.

Their only doubt surrounds Ben Duckett, who may be called away from his home ground to attend the birth of his first child. If so, Dan Lawrence will come in as opener for his first Test since March 2022.

Otherwise, England will just have to be wary of an unchanged West Indian team who know what it is to bounce back. At Edgbaston in 2017, they were widely derided after losing by an innings and 209, only to chase down 322 to win the next match at Headingley. 

More recently, they stunned Australia in Brisbane after a 10-wicket defeat at Adelaide. But it will take an almighty effort to stop England going 2-0 up over the next few days — Anderson or not.