JIMMY Anderson admits it 'would have been nice to have been considered' for the England captaincy, but he is not sure whether he would taken the job.

The Burnley ace wasn't interviewed for the job when Alastair Cook stood down, with Joe Root taking on the role having recently been Cook's vice-captain.

But Anderson admits he would have thought long and hard about the role had he been in contention, although he is not sure taking it on at 34 would have benefited the team.

Asked if he'd have wanted the captaincy, Anderson said: "I don’t know is the honest answer.

"It would have been nice to have been considered for it but whether I would have taken it or not, I am not sure.

"Thinking about it from a personal point of view I would have seriously thought about it. But if I was on the outside looking in, I would have thought ‘is this actually where the team needs to go? With a 34-year-old as captain?’

"I don’t know how long I am going to be able to keep going for and in the grander scheme of things it makes sense for a younger guy to do it."

Anderson and Stuart Broad were overlooked for the captaincy and bowling captains are becoming an increasingly rare species, with Bob Willis the last to do it in Test matches for England on a permanent basis in the early 80s,

But Anderson, who will begin the season playing for Lancashire, is at a loss to explain why more bowlers aren't considered for captaincy roles.

"I don’t know why," he said. "Bowlers do tend to get injured, I suppose, and that might be why Stuart Broad didn’t get asked. There are more injury risks but I am all for bowlers being captain.

"Most of the fast bowling captains I have played with or against have been pretty successful - Glen Chapple here at Lancashire won the Championship – so I don’t know why more fast bowlers aren’t given the opportunity to do it.

"I think they would do a good job and are suited to it. But at the same time it is nice for Joe (Root) if everyone is fit for that first Test we will hopefully have me and Stuart Broad opening the bowling.

"For a young captain to have experienced guys like that would be really helpful to him and his growth into that role."