The Legacy of James Anderson

 

Seventeen summers ago, he started as the poster boy of English Cricket. Over a period of two decades he has defied all odds, to become one of the finest bowlers ever produced in the history of the game! Abhishek Srivastava takes a look at the legacy of James Anderson who became the first pace man, to climb on the mount everest of 600 wickets

James Anderson's next target will be breaking Anil Kumble's 619 wicket tally

 

It all began during  New Zealand’s summer of 2008, when England was playing a Test series against the host. The first test had just ended as a painful defeat for Michael Vaughan’s men and they were left,  a broken unit. it led to the end of an era as the team management decided to drop Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison from the team. From 2001 to 2008, over the course of seven years these two men with Andrew Flintoff and Ashely Giles were a part of the England’s constant squad, which notched some of the most memorable wins. Hoggard never played another test and Harmison could play only a few more. A chapter in English Cricket was terminated abruptly.

Few days later at Basin Reserve, England decided that it was time for youth to take over. James Anderson who had had a stop start Test career and Stuart Broad, who was one test old, were included in the team to partner Ryan Sidebottom. Little did anyone know that the decision would result in forging one of the greatest bowling partnerships of all time! A strong alliance which is now into its 13^th year saw the arrival of two of the most celebrated careers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, one who has touched 600 wickets and the other  following him up with 500 wickets

Anderson picked 5 wicket in his first in 2003

Anderson started his career achieving success in limited over’s game and his performance against Pakistan in world cup 2003 earned him a Test Cap. A fifer in his first at Lords made him an overnight star but as  has happened a zillion times in the history of the game, a young cricketer lost his way. Duncan Fletcher’s obsession with pace meant that while Anderson was always on the scene  he never really got a spot on the squad for a sustained period of time. Then Wellington 2008 happened. Anderson’s five wicket haul at Basin Reserve was a smacking start to a  fairytale journey. From that moment on, he became England’s main pacer and has never looked back.

The 2006 Ashes was confidence damaging for Anderson

Anderson is an expression that the modern team wants to shove in the face of their opponents; they don’t want to give-in an inch to fierce competition. He is the flag bearer of never giving up and defying all logic. He loves to challenge  popular contemplations,  whether it was defying the speculations that he might end up as a lost talent after 2007, or those that he might retire altogether –post the end of his limited over career after the 2015 World Cup or those that with every season  the pundits have declared that this was the last time he might don the English Test cap, Anderson has made them eat their own words, over the years.

Hustling to the crease and trying to release the ball with the index finger of his right hand to garner an out swinger and then using the middle finger to get the in-swing going, that’s what Anderson does to bring variation to his bowling. During the initial part of his career he was a bowler who was more dependent on  conditions, however over the years adding new tricks to his trait had made him an all season campaigner.

The Second Test at Wellington on 2008 Tour of New Zealand changed his career, here
celebrating the wicket of Matthew Sinclair on 3rd Day - 16th March 2008

When Anderson arrived he was an unfinished article, he needed to work on his action, on control and consistency. During all these years, he had learnt from his mistakes and worked on them, especially remodelling his bowling action which was injury prone. He had also worked on controlling  his bowling and that is one of the reasons why he had become a better bowler over the years at a world level. Before discussing how Anderson became the bowler we know him to be, it’s important to know what he went through.

After a successful burst on the international scene, Anderson wasn’t able to replicate his success. A number of things attributed to this, Duncan Fletcher’s preference for pace, the rise of a pace battery and Anderson’s own problem of inconsistency. Between July 2003 and December 2007 Anderson played only 18 of the 61 Tests England played during this era. In these 18 tests he picked 51 wickets at 43.29. It was  evident that his career had not taken off by the time  the New Zealand tour of 2007-08 began. The five wicket haul at Wellington gave confidence to the selectors, that they could think beyond the Ashes troika.

His last wicket partnership in 1st Test of 2009 Ashes proved critical 

Later in English summer of 2008, Anderson bowled extremely well picking up 34 wickets at 25.79 in 7 Tests. However the tour to India and West Indies later that year exposed the weakness in Anderson’s game. It were these tours that tagged him as a home turf bully. Anderson could muster 13 wickets in 6 wickets at an expensive average of 42.79 on these tours. It was clear that he needed to work on his game to succeed, in non responsive conditions.

His first step in this direction was the tour to South Africa in the later part of 2009. He picked up16 wickets in 4 Tests and was impressive all through the tour. However the performance which earned him a place as one of the finest bowlers of modern times, was the Ashes of 2010. It was predicted that Anderson would once again fail in Australia, (in 2006 he took 5 wickets in 3 tests at 82.50) but he turned around  to pick up 24 wickets in 5 Tests. Anderson was the one of the key figures that  scripted an historic series win in Australia, after a gap of 24 years.

Anderson proved to be one of heroes in 2010-11 Ashes win

The experience of playing in the subcontinent paid dividends during the next few tours. In 2011-12 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka he took 18 wickets in 5 Tests at 24.72. The most remarkable aspect of his bowling was the control he had started to show in his bowling. It was because of his 12 wickets in 4 Tests during the winter tour of India in late 2012, that England conquered another frontier. They won a Test series in India after a gap of 28 years.

Anderson’s character has always defined him, the bigger the challenge, the bigger and better are his efforts and results. In 2014 when controversy erupted between him and Ravindra Jadeja he took it as a challenge and rattled the Indian batsmen during the rest of the series. A year later, after a failed world cup campaign England decided to abruptly change  policies for the white ball format, Anderson was dropped. It  led to the speculation of the end of his Test Career as well. The question was will Anderson give up so easily?

3 years ago he notched 500 wicket record

But then adversity has brought out the best in champions and Anderson belongs to a breed that thrives on them. He returned being a better version of himself, focusing on his fitness and ready for five day punch outs. In late 2015 England lost to Pakistan in UAE by 2-0 but Anderson was outstanding on the docile pitches, which had little to offer to him. Anderson picked 13 wickets in 3 Tests at an outstanding average of 15.61.

All these years he has mastered his craft,  has learned from  disappointments and the results are for all to see. Since 2015 he has played 57 Tests and taken 220 Wickets, at an astonishing average of 21.74. This feat he has achieved  between his age of 32 years 9 months and 38 years 1 month. An age  a bowler considers retirement.

Anderson's Test figure are so astonishing that we tend to forget he has a brilliant
ODI record , with 269 wickets in 194 games , he is on top of list for England

There is no doubt that Anderson has been lucky playing for England, where he got the opportunity to play lots of Tests. In a 15 year career, Dale Steyn could not achieve to have played a hundred Tests (fitness being one factor) while Anderson has played 156 Tests. However looking at the other side it shows his desire and hunger. How many players from three major cricket playing countries have played more than 150 Tests and if it comes to bowlers then Anderson stands out.

This is the reason why Jimmy must be celebrated for his achievements, for his longevity, for his hunger and desire to succeed. As we were praising him for 600 wicket milestone and expecting him to announce his retirement, he was setting up another goal. The Ashes of 2021-22. Even though by that time he will be 39, knowing his steel will desire there wouldn’t be any surprise at all that he will leave the experts wrong once again.

James Anderson career in Parts

Period	Tests	Wickets	Average	Economy
May 2003 to Feb 2008	20	62	39.20	3.74
March 2008 to March 2015	79	318	27.87	2.91
April 2015 to August 2020	57	220	21.74	2.46

 

 

Most Wickets as Pace Bowlers

Bowlers	Tests	Wickets	Average	Economy
James Anderson	156	600	26.79	2.85
Glenn McGrath	124	563	21.64	2.49
Stuart Broad	143	514	27.65	2.94

 

Most Tests Wickets

Bowlers	Tests	Wickets	Average	Economy
Muttiah Murlitharan	133	800	22.72	2.47
Shane Warne	145	708	25.41	2.65
Anil Kumble	132	619	29.65	2.69
James Anderson	156	600	26.79	2.85

 

 

Most Tests as Fast Bowler

Bowler	No of Tests Played	Age, when last test played
James Anderson	156	38
Stuart Broad	143	34
Courtney Walsh	132	37
Kapil Dev	131	35
Glenn McGrath	124	36