Anderson-Broad partnership touches a rare milestone
Looking dapper in white shirt and grey trousers, Stuart Broad hurried towards the parking area opposite the Rose Bowl at the end of the third day’s play. Soon, he was revving up the engine of a two-seater black Jaguar before stopping in front of the stadium gate as James Anderson emerged, almost sprinting along. Broad changed his seat and Anderson took to the wheels.
The focus of attention on the field of play, the dashing pace twins caught everyone’s eye on the road as well. Like in the Batman movies, Anderson rolled down the hood before stepping on the pedal, the car racing forward with a roar.
Not only do they enjoy each other’s company off the field, they love to bowl in partnership too. Further proof of that came during India’s first innings, the England pair joined a select group of fast bowlers who have taken 500 wickets in partnership, emulating West Indies duo Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh and Pakistani pair Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. IN PAIR Anderson can singlehandedly destroy any batting line-up, but it is double trouble when they hunt in a pair. The two have become the pillars of England, and in the third Test, they again showed how deadly they are bowling in tandem, bundling out India for 330. Anderson took five wickets while Broad picked up three main wickets to power England ahead.
Broad had set the tone by prising out India’s mainstays Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara on the second morning. Anderson wrapped up the innings quickly on the fourth morning, taking the last two wickets within 13 balls.
“To go into the company of Wasim and Waqar and Courtney and Curtly is a huge honour, four heroes of mine growing up,” said Broad. “It shows the value of partnerships as bowlers ... Jimmy and me are constantly talking, not just out on the field but in the nets together,” he added. “Even now, we’ve played a lot of Test cricket, but I’ll still ask Jimmy at the end of an over ‘what shall I bowl’?
“We work together really tightly. So, to have got 500 wickets together is massive. I hope we can take a few more.”
They complement each other. Anderson tests the batsmen with swing and a fuller length while Broad likes to hit the deck and use his height to extract extra bounce.
They have played a stellar role in England’s recent domination, wrecking India in the 2011 series at home before helping their team carve out a rare series win in the subcontinent in the following season. It is also one of the reasons why India are pushing so hard to get Anderson banned for the incident with Jadeja. Breaking the Anderson-Broad partnership may
hold the key.