Swinging times for ageless Anderson as record beckons
England veteran is 11 wickets short of becoming the most successful Test paceman
LONDON: James Anderson doesn’t always swing a golf club with perfection, video of his shot bouncing back to hit him having caused much mirth. With a cricket ball, however, it’s a different deal.
The last time England and India squared up at Trent Bridge, where the third Test starts on Saturday, it was an Anderson-Ravindra Jadeja clash in the passage to the dressing rooms that garnered attention. That was 2014.
This time, as the teams play football to warm up, Anderson, 36 and going strong, looks a natural. Jadeja is no less an athlete, but he lives on the fringes of this team, unlike the England spearhead.
In a series where Indian batsmen’s technique against swing has again been exposed, the Virat Kohli-Anderson duel was the highlight of the Edgbaston Test. Over after over, Anderson steamed in, pitching it inches from off-stump.
Kohli didn’t take the bait, winning the battle of 15 overs by England’s most successful bowler either side of lunch, going on to score 149. However, it was Anderson & Co who are winning the war.
A veteran observer of English cricket described Anderson as ‘Richard Hadlee like’, unplayable like the New Zealand pace great in seaming conditions.
Anderson perhaps is the most under-rated among modern bowlers, though he is close to surpassing Australia’s Glenn McGrath (563) as the most successful fast bowler in Test cricket. He needs just 11 more scalps.
DECISIVE SHOW
Against India at home, the Manchester man has been decisive. Out of 14 Tests (73 wickets at 23.10) he has played in, nine have ended in England victories with Anderson taking 50 wickets at 17.64. In this series, he has been both spearhead and the bowler who sets it up for the younger lot.
He was no less a tormentor in India. In the 2012-13 series, when England rallied to win 2-1, Anderson harnessing the winter breeze from river Hooghly in the Kolkata Test of 2012 (6/127 match haul) sealed a decisive series lead.
He warmed up with four wickets in Edgbaston. At Lord’s, he removed openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul in both innings, took 5/20 in the first innings, and 9/43 for the match.
The Anderson torment is perhaps more than what McGrath has dealt Indian batsmen in the past. England are concerned about preserving their precious commodity, who has a dodgy shoulder. Asked about Anderson, skipper Joe Root said after the Lord’s Test: “He’s (Anderson) a special, special commodity… we’ve got to enjoy him while he’s around; there’s been chat about his longevity but at the minute he’s bowling better than he ever has before.”
What about plans to rest him? “That’s something we will have to manage, and will have to take into account the workloads over the next three games. But when they’re performing as they are (Anderson and Stuart Broad), and making the game shorter, it makes it a lot easier for them to be fit and be ready to play in the next game.”
The secret of his longevity is Anderson’s discipline. He pounds the Manchester streets even in peak winter to build core strength. And India batsmen feel it as he still powers through the crease.
“All I think about is getting my body in as good a condition as it can be to cope with bowling out in the middle. I was delighted with how many overs I bowled at Edgbaston (38). For my body to get through that at this age, I’m really happy. It means I’m doing the right stuff off the field,” Anderson said.
“I don’t think about numbers or my age. I feel like, I won’t say 28, but 32. I don’t feel old, I feel like I can still throw myself around in the field as well as anyone else so as long as I feel like I’m just going to keep playing as long as possible.
“Hopefully, the wickets will keep coming as well and I can help this team keep winning.”