If he stays fit, I’ve no doubt he’ll beat my wickets record Jimmy’s been a letdown in Oz before . . . this is his last chance
Jimmy ANDERSON is a great bowler, make no mistake about that, and his record speaks for itself, but he has never fulfilled his true potential away from home. This Ashes series will be his last chance to do so in Australia.
Anderson is only the third fast bowler to take 500 wickets, after myself and Courtney Walsh, so that just shows you his longevity and if he plays in the whole of this series he will have played more Tests than any paceman.
it takes a lot of hard work to achieve what he has done, fronting up day in and day out, and when the ball is swinging he is as good as anyone in the world.
it’s no surprise he has a better record with the Dukes ball and clearly loves bowling with that, but then so did i! i wish i could have bowled with it all the time to be honest because it gives much more help to the bowler.
But you do have to adapt to different balls and different conditions and if i have a criticism of Jimmy, he can let himself down and just come back to the pack a bit when he bowls with the Kookaburra.
yes, i know Jimmy had a good series when England won in Australia in 2010-11 but as many as 335 of his 506 Test wickets have been taken in England and he takes his wickets in Australia at 38 compared to 24 at home. That’s why, to me, Anderson has never really done himself full justice overseas and that is all to do with the ball.
The Dukes feels good in the hand, it has a big seam, and he can swing the new one both ways and gain reverse with the old one. He knows how to bowl with it.
in Australia the seam is not as big, the ball can go soft quickly and there is not much swing. But Jimmy has enough experience with it, not just in Australia but in other countries around the world, to know that his time has come to make a big impact.
Then there are the Australian pitches. my biggest gripe towards the end of my career is that all our wickets had started to get a bit similar and in the 10 years since i’ve retired, with the drop in surfaces, they have become flatter and flatter.
When you’re a bit long in the tooth that can make life a lot tougher than when you’re a young fella, but i’m sure he will push through for his country.
Certainly Jimmy still looks fit and potent enough at 35 to lead the England attack in this Ashes. you need your experienced players to set an example and i’m sure he will be key for Joe Root and bring a lot to his team over the next two months.
i was lucky enough to play until i was 37 and, even though the stresses of bowling fast get worse the older you get, i reckon he has another two good years left in him and could play in the next Ashes series in England too.
And if he does that there is no doubt in my mind he can overtake my record number of 563 Test wickets for a fast bowler.
He should do it easily as long as he still has the hunger to keep playing and can remain as fit as he is now. Stay on the paddock and it’s only a matter of time before he goes past me.
Stuart Broad is just as important to England as Anderson and he clearly enjoyed being the ‘pantomime villain’ the last time he toured Australia. That’s good.
you don’t want the opposition fans to like you. The reception he received here last time was, in fact, a big sign of respect.
if they didn’t care about you or worry that you can have an effect on the game then they wouldn’t worry about sledging you. i certainly like the way Broad bowls and i’ve always been a fan.
i saw he said in an interview with Sportsmail that he wants to try to bowl like me in Australia and, to be honest, i think our styles are similar anyway. He’s tall, he hits the deck, gets a bit of bounce and gets seam movement.
Broad doesn’t swing the ball anywhere near as much as Jimmy does, and neither did i, but he gets the ball in the right area and gets it to nip around enough. The best batsmen around the world say it’s bounce they fear most and Broad is the best member of the England attack at getting that.
Stuart, like Jimmy, has a huge amount of experience, i just reckon he should have taken more than 388 wickets in 109 Tests. That’s just because i rate him as a top-quality bowler.
it helps England that their big two are so different. it’s perfect for any captain to have one of his opening bowlers getting swing and the other bounce. you don’t want them to be identical. if they are bowling well in tandem they will offer a lot to Root and pose a big threat to Australia’s batsmen.
Whether that makes them as good as the Aussie attack remains to be seen . . . and certainly mitchell Starc can have as big an impact on this series as mitchell Johnson did four years ago if he swings the new ball.
That’s the edge Australia have at the moment. i’m looking forward to seeing what happens.