Joe Root labelled James Anderson as England's greatest bowler but insisted the future is bright following Gus Atkinson's sensational debut against West Indies. (More Cricket News)
Anderson called time on his international career at Lord's on Friday, taking four wickets on his final appearance as Ben Stokes' team embark on a new era without the legendary seamer.
While replacing Anderson, who took 704 wickets in total, is an unenviable task, Atkinson shone for England after becoming the 19th male player to take 10 wickets on his Test match debut against the West Indies.
Atkinson's figures of 12-106 were the fourth best any player has managed in their first Test, having only made his white-ball debuts in both T20Is and ODIs over the past 12 months.
"I think the future does look very bright in the bowling department," Root said.
"We've lost our greatest ever bowler but for Gus to come in and do that shows a lot about where we are as a team. We are moving in the right direction."
With two more Tests against the Windies and a three-match series against Sri Lanka scheduled for later in the summer, Root is already looking ahead to the highly anticipated Ashes clash with Australia next year.
England will be aiming for their first series win over Australia since 2015, and Root believes Atkinson could emerge as a key figure in those conditions.
"I think as a player, the Ashes is the series that you're always looking forward to, they're the ones you're always building towards.
"When teams have gone out there, what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl in the late 80mphs, early 90mphs, and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace."
Root, who has played 110 matches alongside Anderson, only behind Stuart Broad (138) and Alastair Cook (130) in terms of shared matches, expressed deep admiration for Anderson's remarkable career.
England's former Test captain said: "It's been an incredible tribute, hasn't it?
"The fact we only had an hour's play [on Friday] and we got a full house at Lord's just shows the impact that Jimmy's career has had on so many people.
"These days, they're few and far between. You don't get the opportunity to celebrate such a wonderful career and someone that's done things in the game that no one else has done before.
"I think it's something that we#ll look back at and treasure. For me, all I've ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that's been for 12 years."
