Sir James 'Jimmy' Anderson is the greatest bowler England has ever produced with the world's most wickets in the Test match format.
But there was a stage of his career where he nearly packed it all in which would not have resulted in a knighthood earlier this year with more than 700 Test wickets to his name.
Speaking exclusively to this newspaper ahead of his upcoming theatre tour alongside his Tailenders podcast companion Felix White, Sir James recalled the agony of a serious back injury and the strain it placed on his body.
READ MORE: Jimmy Anderson highlights Australia weakness ahead of Ashes
He said: "There was one stage in my career when I considered retiring when I was 24 with a serious back injury which took six or seven months to recover from.
"I was seriously debating whether going through that rehab was worth it. I was ultimately thankful to go through that rehab."
For someone who is so modest, I asked him if facing a different type of audience phases him when stepping out from behind the curtain.
"The nerves are greater going on stage than playing cricket in front of thousands of people," the Lancastrian explained.
"It is a little bit different for me away from what I normally do. When you get a good relationship with the audience and get good feedback you do have a big buzz from that. I enjoy the process where I can reminisce on parts of my career.
"Being with Felix White helps as it is quite light-hearted and we try to have a laugh with funny stories from dressing rooms and things like that. I want people to go home having been entertained."
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The shows will reflect upon the high and lows of the athlete's career who has defied the odds by continuing to play at the highest level over the age of 40 despite the considerable strains fast bowling places on the body.
This includes the disappointment of England telling him his time was up after the first Test match of the summer in 2024 at Lord's against the West Indies when Sir James received a standing ovation as he left the field for the final time in the international format.
"But going back to Lancashire and the opportunity in The Hundred has been very different and definitely something to talk about."
The Hundred is a relatively new cricket format with amended rules designed for a new, younger audience which is shorter in length and with more razzmatazz surrounding it.
* You can find Sir James' prediction and thoughts on the upcoming Ashes series from our interview here *
For Sir James, it has proved to be a very different experience on the field as well.
He explained: "For me in Test cricket you can generally bowl at your best and trouble some of the best players all the time.
"You can cause problems to some of the best batters no matter how good they are.
"In The Hundred, you have to think outside the box a bit more and adapt your skills to get on top of the opponent. You have to try to learn skills and deal with slower conditions from a bowling point of view.
"One of the toughest aspects of The Hundred is the standard is very high and there are lots of overseas players so there is no real weak points you can exploit.
"Another thing about The Hundred is that everyone meets before the first game a couple of days before and then you are expected to gel together and be a team very quickly."
He was one of the few Lancastrians to receive a thunderous round of applause from the Yorkshire crowd at Headingley when Manchester Originals played the Northern Superchargers last Tuesday.
It is a reception he has become accustomed to whether that it is in the international arena or on tour with his podcast.
"Being on tour with Tailenders last year, I was amazed by the reaction. I did not expect that sort of reaction from people," Sir James said.
"It is quite hard to put into words when that happens. I think it is incredible the reaction I get from cricket. Doing some of the games this year and being away from home, it is really flattering how people feel that way."
Fans can expect some stories from the dressing room and insight into Sir James' career during the theatre tour called 'An Evening with Jimmy Anderson'.
"There is definitely a significant overlap with Tailenders which I have been doing for seven or eight years. It helps with the camaraderie between us and Felix White helps with that.
"It’s the two of us having a chat and trying to get into the mindset in difficult stages of my career. We will delve into high profile moments and games, and how I felt about them.
"I definitely feel Tailenders has given me more confidence with these things."
An Evening with Jimmy Anderson takes place from Thursday, September 4 to Thursday, October 30 and includes shows at the Warwick Arts Centre on Friday, October 24 and The Forum in Bath on Wednesday, October 15.
For full details, visit www.fane.co.uk/jimmy-anderson.
