Without James Anderson in action, the world of cricket will never be the same again
By Ahmad Hamood
Fast bowlers seldom survive the game beyond their mid-30s. Yes, we have some examples of men bowling in their late 30s too but they droop down to a gentle medium pace by that time becoming cannon fodder to batsmen. At 40, you’re supposed to have long been consigned to the shelves of statistics. However, not so if you go by the name of James Anderson.
In his swansong Test against the West Indies that wrapped up Friday (12 July), Anderson, 41, was still swinging the ball at a decent pace, scalping four wickets overall, at Lord’s. This is the same venue where he made his Test debut in May 2003.
Now, so much water has flown down the River Thames since then. The game of cricket has transformed almost beyond recognition. Come to think of the status of the game’s most popular format these days – the T20Is – around the time Anderson bowled his first bowl in a Test. Well, the T20I format was still to make its appearance. To be more precise, it was on 17 February 2005 that Australia played New Zealand in the first-ever men’s international Twenty20 match, at Eden Park in Auckland.
[Video: Anderson Interview/Intuit Quickbooks]
Goes on to show how much change the game has seen in the two decades that Anderson graced the English cap. And he has gone on, and on, and on, until hanging his boots a couple of days ago – the King of Swing and one of the premier fast bowlers of all time.
It’s difficult to imagine an English attack sans Anderson. As the most potent weapon and threat to those wielding the willow, he had been a constant. His last Test saw a sterling debut show by pacer Gus Atkinson with figures of 7 for 45 and 5 for 61 but the focus, somehow, never shifted away from Anderson.
Former England skipper Joe Root, who has played 110 Tests with Anderson, was quoted by media reports saying, “For me, all I’ve ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that’s been for 12 years.”
As it turns out, with an overall tally of 704 Test wickets, the most by a fast bowler and the third on the list of the game’s longest format, only behind M. Muralitharan (800 wickets) and Shane Warne (708 wickets), it’s very unlikely a fast bowler would ever go past him.
Not just that. He also has a mindboggling record of bowling 40,000 balls in Test cricket and 50,000 balls across all formats.
So, how much distance has Anderson covered bowling all those deliveries in his career? Well, the answer is more than 800 km with his run-up in red-ball cricket alone!!
One of the traits that distinguished this tall, suave man with Hollywood actor-type-looks, was his propensity to rise to the occasion whenever the chips were down. He would inevitably deliver. Time and again. The control over the line and length was immaculate. The ball simply danced to his tune. The deliveries would curve in or dart away – menacingly, to say the least – at the last moment to outwit the best of batsmen.
What’s more, he was least perturbed about the conditions, his best coming often against the most formidable rivals – Australia, India, South Africa.
No wonder cricket fans across the world secretly wished the Swing King’s swansong never came. The world of cricket will never be the same again.
(With inputs from media reports/Pictures: Agencies/Media reports/Internet)
- The writer is pursuing his postgraduation in management from D. Y. Patil, Pune
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