Let's wind the clock back for a decade and half. The year is 2003. England are playing a test match against Zimbabwe at the Home of cricket, Lords'. A 20-year old Lancashire kid making his debut has been handed the ball. When he bowls his 18th delivery in test cricket, a Zimbabwe batsman heard the rattle of stumps behind him. The stumps will continue to rattle by the same kid for next 14 years. The last one to hear it yesterday was Kraigg Braithwaite. Put into the history books by the shy kid from Manchester. Surely, none would have thought that the kid will become the greatest bowler England ever produced. Overshadowing the likes of Bob Willis, Trueman, Sir Botham and so on. It is amazing how the kid first became a man and then the master. The master, who reached the magical figures of 500 test wickets? The feat only 2 fast bowlers and total of 5 men in cricket history have achieved. Oh yes Jimmy!
Despite having a dream debut of picking up a 5-for at the biggest venue of cricket, Jimmy didn't have the greatest of times in the beginning. He struggled for consistency and batsmen weren't much bothered. He missed the bus on 2005 Ashes and he was overlooked over Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Darren Gough, Simon Jones etc. He got the Ashes taste finally in 2006-07 which was a horrible experience for him. He took 5 wickets each of which cost him 82.60 runs. England were destroyed by 5-0. It was an awful beginning. He toiled harder and harder. He was dropped multiple times, but he came back strongly and today he is arguably the most skillful fast bowler of all times.
The journey from being dismissed as 12th man to being the best fast bowler wasn't easy. He had to learn so many new tricks. In the early phases of his career, he was mostly an outswing bowler with occasionally keeping it straight to get the nicks. It used to work for him at Old Trafford for Lancashire. But, needless to say International cricket is bloody cauldron itself. If you don't keep evolving, teams will figure you out. He later learnt the art of in-swingers and since then, he has never looked back. It is as if he is having fun out there in the middle. He reads batsmen and stays one step of them. He is now more dangerous and indecipherable than ever. His team-mate and friend Stuart Broad recently stated that He has never seen Jimmy bowled better in his career. Like a vintage wine, he is getting finer and stronger with age. For instance, he averages 20 with the ball in his last 28 tests, which suggest that his best days for England might well be ahead of him.
It is easy to be dismissive of such achievements by shrugging off the shoulders and saying, "But Murli picked up 800 wickets!". Well. Being a fast bowler myself (at times, mostly I am dibbly-dobbly), I can tell you how much your body inflicts pain upon itself. You have to hurt your body deliberately to generate the pace in extreme conditions. You have to sweat through the day and can't afford to let your guard down. Building constant pressure by dots after dots. Playing the game within the game. Setting up the batsmen by bowling so many outswingers only to bring one in to hit the pad or wickets. Bowling is pretty tough work.
In cricket, laws clearly favor the batsman. Bats are getting bigger and better. Boundaries are shrinking. Pitches are covered, rolled and tailor made for batting. This game is often thought of as cricket vs bowlers. Even among bowlers, Fast bowlers have the most insurmountable job to do in test cricket. They are expected to give the team breakthrough with the new ball to set the game up. They are expected to clean up the tail. They are expected to gain reverse swing and tilt the game after 80th over. Sometimes, they are even expected to save the team with bat too. Too much work. Really.
Anderson does each of these jobs beautifully. He has picked up wickets in all parts of the world. Even in Asia, his record is magnificent. After India lost to England in 2012-13, In words of MS Dhoni, "Anderson was the difference between the sides." That is how good Jimmy really is. He has picked up the dream wicket of Great Tendulkar a record 9 times. Anderson has a knack of picking wickets of top-order. According to statistics, Of Anderson's 501 Test wkts, 299 have been top-5 bats (around 60%). Some comparisons: Glenn McGrath 57.7% Wasim 48.5%, Stuart Broad 52.1%, Malcolm Marshall 53.2% Dale Steyn: 53.2%. It clearly shows that he has worked harder and his wickets have put England in much better position of winning games.
Undoubtedly, Anderson is a modern great of the game. He has picked up most of his wickets after 2011 which shows that batsmen, coaches etc. had so much access to his video-tapes, data, analysts etc. He remained an enigma to the batters no matter what they threw at him. In last decade, a lot of laws have been manufactured to help the batsmen. Well. Jimmy doesn't care. He goes and works out the batsmen for a living. He wins England games of cricket. He is a true role-model for any young fast bowler. He doesn't pick up social media fights. He is humble, shy, dutiful, hardworking and a true sportsman of the game. Very recently, during England-South Africa test series, James Anderson became the first bowler to have ever picked up a test wicket from an end named after him itself. Jimmy bowling from James Anderson end at his home-ground. It doesn't get better than that. It was his 481st test wicket. Now he has raced to 501. There are still so many left in the tank. So many batsmen waiting to be shown the door of pavilion by Jimmy's magic. One can easily wonder if he will end up as highest fast bowling wicket-taker in test cricket history. Next Stop: Walsh 519. Then, comes McGrath 563. Not too far, I'd say.
Despite all the stardom and being the spearhead of England pace attack for almost a decade, Anderson has always stayed true to himself and hates the limelight. He is always content with being the man England relies upon in times of need and personal achievements are only a cherry on cake, not the driving force. In his words, "I just love playing cricket. It's my biggest passion and always has been since I was a kid. To be able to do it for my country - to be able to play in Test matches at Lord's - is something I could never dream of doing. The milestones are nice, but they're not what drive me. I want to help England win games of cricket. That's why I turn up every day trying to improve myself. I'm loving playing cricket. I'm really enjoying playing in this team and hopefully that can continue for a while yet."
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Anderson, from right-arm over the wicket. The ball pitched outside the off-stump on the slope of Lord's. Kraigg Braithwaite leans forward to drive it. The ball took a shape and found a way between his bat and pad as if it was being controlled by an invisible monster. It disturbed the furniture behind Braithwaite. James Anderson opens his wings and takes a celebratory flight. Fly, Jimmy, Fly.
Despite having a dream debut of picking up a 5-for at the biggest venue of cricket, Jimmy didn't have the greatest of times in the beginning. He struggled for consistency and batsmen weren't much bothered. He missed the bus on 2005 Ashes and he was overlooked over Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Darren Gough, Simon Jones etc. He got the Ashes taste finally in 2006-07 which was a horrible experience for him. He took 5 wickets each of which cost him 82.60 runs. England were destroyed by 5-0. It was an awful beginning. He toiled harder and harder. He was dropped multiple times, but he came back strongly and today he is arguably the most skillful fast bowler of all times.
The journey from being dismissed as 12th man to being the best fast bowler wasn't easy. He had to learn so many new tricks. In the early phases of his career, he was mostly an outswing bowler with occasionally keeping it straight to get the nicks. It used to work for him at Old Trafford for Lancashire. But, needless to say International cricket is bloody cauldron itself. If you don't keep evolving, teams will figure you out. He later learnt the art of in-swingers and since then, he has never looked back. It is as if he is having fun out there in the middle. He reads batsmen and stays one step of them. He is now more dangerous and indecipherable than ever. His team-mate and friend Stuart Broad recently stated that He has never seen Jimmy bowled better in his career. Like a vintage wine, he is getting finer and stronger with age. For instance, he averages 20 with the ball in his last 28 tests, which suggest that his best days for England might well be ahead of him.
It is easy to be dismissive of such achievements by shrugging off the shoulders and saying, "But Murli picked up 800 wickets!". Well. Being a fast bowler myself (at times, mostly I am dibbly-dobbly), I can tell you how much your body inflicts pain upon itself. You have to hurt your body deliberately to generate the pace in extreme conditions. You have to sweat through the day and can't afford to let your guard down. Building constant pressure by dots after dots. Playing the game within the game. Setting up the batsmen by bowling so many outswingers only to bring one in to hit the pad or wickets. Bowling is pretty tough work.
In cricket, laws clearly favor the batsman. Bats are getting bigger and better. Boundaries are shrinking. Pitches are covered, rolled and tailor made for batting. This game is often thought of as cricket vs bowlers. Even among bowlers, Fast bowlers have the most insurmountable job to do in test cricket. They are expected to give the team breakthrough with the new ball to set the game up. They are expected to clean up the tail. They are expected to gain reverse swing and tilt the game after 80th over. Sometimes, they are even expected to save the team with bat too. Too much work. Really.
Anderson does each of these jobs beautifully. He has picked up wickets in all parts of the world. Even in Asia, his record is magnificent. After India lost to England in 2012-13, In words of MS Dhoni, "Anderson was the difference between the sides." That is how good Jimmy really is. He has picked up the dream wicket of Great Tendulkar a record 9 times. Anderson has a knack of picking wickets of top-order. According to statistics, Of Anderson's 501 Test wkts, 299 have been top-5 bats (around 60%). Some comparisons: Glenn McGrath 57.7% Wasim 48.5%, Stuart Broad 52.1%, Malcolm Marshall 53.2% Dale Steyn: 53.2%. It clearly shows that he has worked harder and his wickets have put England in much better position of winning games.
Undoubtedly, Anderson is a modern great of the game. He has picked up most of his wickets after 2011 which shows that batsmen, coaches etc. had so much access to his video-tapes, data, analysts etc. He remained an enigma to the batters no matter what they threw at him. In last decade, a lot of laws have been manufactured to help the batsmen. Well. Jimmy doesn't care. He goes and works out the batsmen for a living. He wins England games of cricket. He is a true role-model for any young fast bowler. He doesn't pick up social media fights. He is humble, shy, dutiful, hardworking and a true sportsman of the game. Very recently, during England-South Africa test series, James Anderson became the first bowler to have ever picked up a test wicket from an end named after him itself. Jimmy bowling from James Anderson end at his home-ground. It doesn't get better than that. It was his 481st test wicket. Now he has raced to 501. There are still so many left in the tank. So many batsmen waiting to be shown the door of pavilion by Jimmy's magic. One can easily wonder if he will end up as highest fast bowling wicket-taker in test cricket history. Next Stop: Walsh 519. Then, comes McGrath 563. Not too far, I'd say.
Despite all the stardom and being the spearhead of England pace attack for almost a decade, Anderson has always stayed true to himself and hates the limelight. He is always content with being the man England relies upon in times of need and personal achievements are only a cherry on cake, not the driving force. In his words, "I just love playing cricket. It's my biggest passion and always has been since I was a kid. To be able to do it for my country - to be able to play in Test matches at Lord's - is something I could never dream of doing. The milestones are nice, but they're not what drive me. I want to help England win games of cricket. That's why I turn up every day trying to improve myself. I'm loving playing cricket. I'm really enjoying playing in this team and hopefully that can continue for a while yet."
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Anderson, from right-arm over the wicket. The ball pitched outside the off-stump on the slope of Lord's. Kraigg Braithwaite leans forward to drive it. The ball took a shape and found a way between his bat and pad as if it was being controlled by an invisible monster. It disturbed the furniture behind Braithwaite. James Anderson opens his wings and takes a celebratory flight. Fly, Jimmy, Fly.
