Trent Bridge hero of last Ashes test, 2012: James Anderson. Since then He has been bowling, bowling and bowling. He has given his all to this English team. For the last 3 years, He has been playing non-stop cricket. Always willing to give his 100 percent in the field, What has happened to this man now?
Last Ashes in Trent Bridge, In second innings for some seconds, I was haunted by the idea that Brad Haddin will win Australia this game on his own. Suddenly, Cook brings his best man in when Australia were 15 short of the target and He does incredibly well by taking the wicket of Haddin and won the game. It was his tenth wicket of the match. He beat Australia on his own. Since then, He has undergone a slide of form. He averages 47 since then.
Last night, I kept thinking about the possible reasons How on a sudden, Australia learnt to play him so well. He is a supreme mover of the cricket ball. His seam position, wrist movement are just too good. Sometimes, He can bowl as good as it is possible in cricket. He can bowl where he wants to bowl. He can make the batsman dance to his tune on his best. He has outsmarted the god of cricket 9 times in the test cricket. He is just a clinic of swing bowling.
Physically, He has not got any advantage over any fast bowler. He has not got a height of some 80 inches which helps him to get some extra bounce. He has not got a huge shoulder or big body. His action is not some slinging arm. He has to fight his way back, do a lot of hard work to get batsmen out. But, Despite all odds, he did learn some of the best fast bowling tricks the world will ever witness. He has outswingers of world class to take him to the top. He does have some pace, But class batsmen will always find a way against you if you just have some raw pace. Pace is devastating only when you scare all with that. Unfortunately, Anderson does not have even this. He has just worked harder and harder to reach there.
Facing him in England is like a nightmare for most of the human beings of this planet. England climate certainly helps swing bowlers and Anderson rightly takes advantage of that. Also he has got some apt partners to bowl with like Stuart broad, Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan etc. He proved himself in the subcontinent wickets too where the ball doesn't swing much Just on the basis of pure skill. He believes in learning as much as he can. That's why he is so successful. He helped England win in India after trailing by 0-1. I still remember the ball on which he got Sehwag on first ball duck in Nagpur. He helped England gaining the top spot in test rankings.
When Anderson bowls with perfect seam position, I can't imagine any better sight than that in cricket. It is so natural and text book style that you will want to watch it so many times. He is perfect for flat pitches and against boring batsmen. He learnt the art of reverse swing to get edges with old balls. He knows what the batsman might be thinking. He does have a lot of variations in his bowling. He certainly is no more just a swinging new ball bowler like the other young guns.
Some months ago, I read from somewhere that Anderson has been rated as the most skillful bowler on earth. Even I think the same. But what intrigues me at present that why on earth his current form against Australia is wobbling. Is it too much cricket, Is he tired or Have Aussies found a way against him? He used to win England test matches with just one spell. But what has happened now. He still averages approximately 30 in test cricket, which is too much considering the high standards of him. He is second highest wicket taker for England in test cricket just behind Sir Ian Botham. Given his current age is just 31, He probably will end up with a bag of 500 test wickets. His determination, discipline has brought him so far.
He has been one of my personal favourite bowlers. There is something special about him, isn't it?
Last Ashes in Trent Bridge, In second innings for some seconds, I was haunted by the idea that Brad Haddin will win Australia this game on his own. Suddenly, Cook brings his best man in when Australia were 15 short of the target and He does incredibly well by taking the wicket of Haddin and won the game. It was his tenth wicket of the match. He beat Australia on his own. Since then, He has undergone a slide of form. He averages 47 since then.
Last night, I kept thinking about the possible reasons How on a sudden, Australia learnt to play him so well. He is a supreme mover of the cricket ball. His seam position, wrist movement are just too good. Sometimes, He can bowl as good as it is possible in cricket. He can bowl where he wants to bowl. He can make the batsman dance to his tune on his best. He has outsmarted the god of cricket 9 times in the test cricket. He is just a clinic of swing bowling.
Physically, He has not got any advantage over any fast bowler. He has not got a height of some 80 inches which helps him to get some extra bounce. He has not got a huge shoulder or big body. His action is not some slinging arm. He has to fight his way back, do a lot of hard work to get batsmen out. But, Despite all odds, he did learn some of the best fast bowling tricks the world will ever witness. He has outswingers of world class to take him to the top. He does have some pace, But class batsmen will always find a way against you if you just have some raw pace. Pace is devastating only when you scare all with that. Unfortunately, Anderson does not have even this. He has just worked harder and harder to reach there.
Facing him in England is like a nightmare for most of the human beings of this planet. England climate certainly helps swing bowlers and Anderson rightly takes advantage of that. Also he has got some apt partners to bowl with like Stuart broad, Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan etc. He proved himself in the subcontinent wickets too where the ball doesn't swing much Just on the basis of pure skill. He believes in learning as much as he can. That's why he is so successful. He helped England win in India after trailing by 0-1. I still remember the ball on which he got Sehwag on first ball duck in Nagpur. He helped England gaining the top spot in test rankings.
When Anderson bowls with perfect seam position, I can't imagine any better sight than that in cricket. It is so natural and text book style that you will want to watch it so many times. He is perfect for flat pitches and against boring batsmen. He learnt the art of reverse swing to get edges with old balls. He knows what the batsman might be thinking. He does have a lot of variations in his bowling. He certainly is no more just a swinging new ball bowler like the other young guns.
Some months ago, I read from somewhere that Anderson has been rated as the most skillful bowler on earth. Even I think the same. But what intrigues me at present that why on earth his current form against Australia is wobbling. Is it too much cricket, Is he tired or Have Aussies found a way against him? He used to win England test matches with just one spell. But what has happened now. He still averages approximately 30 in test cricket, which is too much considering the high standards of him. He is second highest wicket taker for England in test cricket just behind Sir Ian Botham. Given his current age is just 31, He probably will end up with a bag of 500 test wickets. His determination, discipline has brought him so far.
He has been one of my personal favourite bowlers. There is something special about him, isn't it?
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