James Anderson has admitted that Joe Root 's tenure as England Test captain made their friendship "harder".
Root captained England in 64 Tests, more than anyone else, and Anderson picked up 170 wickets in 46 appearances during his tenure. He was also controversially dropped though, along with long-time bowling partner Stuart Broad, for Root's final series in charge - a 1-0 defeat to the West Indies.
Speaking on his BBC Tailenders podcast , Anderson reflected on Root's time as skipper, stating he has 'performed at his best' during his time in charge. Anderson did also admit though that "the deeper he has got into the captaincy the harder it's been to be as matey as we probably were", adding that he was looking forward to getting "back on those matey terms" now Root has relinquished the captaincy.
Anderson revealed that he had spoken to Root about his decision to quit as captain, saying: "I thanked him because I think it's not a coincidence that statistically my best years as a bowler have been under his captaincy.
"A lot is said about myself and Stuart under his captaincy, there's been a lot talked about in that respect, but for me, I think I have performed at my best under his captaincy. I thanked him as well for his support throughout the last few years.
"He's someone who's been very encouraging to me about carrying on playing. He wanted to get the most out of me as a bowler.
"He rested me at times to try and make sure I could just keep going for as long as I possibly could. So there's a lot of mutual respect there and for me he's always been a really good mate as well.
"The deeper he has got into the captaincy the harder it's been to be as matey as we probably were. But hopefully that'll now be easier to get back on those matey terms."
Anderson recently played his first game since the Ashes, taking match figures of 2-55 in Lancashire's innings victory over Gloucestershire. Both he and Broad are expected to be recalled this summer, with England set to play a total of seven Test matches against New Zealand, India and South Africa.
