Ageless Anderson's record haul inspired by sprint king

James Anderson looks no closer to the finish line after posting yet another career-high in England's second Test against Sri Lanka, and the seemingly ageless paceman has been looking to US sprint legend Carl Lewis for inspiration.

Full second Test scorecard here

At an age where most pace bowlers are no longer putting themselves through the hard yards of Test cricket, the 38-year-old Anderson is still finding ways to get better. 

On Saturday morning, he put the finishing touches to figures of 6-40 from 29 overs on day two, the best-ever innings return by an English seamer in Sri Lanka.

That helped England dismiss their hosts for 381 before Joe Root (67no) and Jonny Bairstow (24no) put on a 93-run stand to move the visitors to 2-98 at stumps on day two.

Anderson's unmatched ability to endure on the big stage – he has played more Tests, bowled more balls and taken more wickets than any other seamer – has been fuelled by a fierce physical determination and even now he is eager to learn and evolve.

"Age is something that I don't really take into account," he said. "I don't wake up thinking, 'right I'm 38 and however many days'. I'm thinking I'm still someone who can do a job for England and I can still win games of cricket.

"I still love working at my game, still love doing the fitness stuff and keeping in good shape. 

"I feel as though I can still get quicker and that I can improve on my fitness, so I am trying to find ways of doing that."

Anderson, whose Test tally of 606 wickets is now only 13 shy of third-placed Anil Kumble's, said he had found inspiration via the feats of athletics stars, with Lewis – the Olympics legend from the 1980s and '90s – his current interest.

"I have done a lot of work in the gym and I have sort of got obsessed with watching sprinters as well," he added.

"I am obsessed with Carl Lewis at the minute, watching him run, but I don't know if you can see a comparison with me chasing the ball to the boundary! 

"I don't see why I can't keep improving just because I'm getting older. The more work you put in, generally this game will give you rewards, and that's how it felt the last couple of days."

Anderson's superb showing raises questions about whether England would be best served playing both him and Stuart Broad in the first Test against India in a fortnight's time, with the duo having shared one place in the current series.

"I'd like to think so," Anderson said, "but all we can do is try to keep performing and hopefully we get the nod."