JIMMY IS SO GREAT... ENGLAND IS NOT AN EASY PLACE TO BOWL!

FOR Jimmy Anderson to get to 600 Test wickets is a truly great achievement. It left me wondering: ‘How do you get 600?’ It’s phenomenal, particularly as a fast bowler. It is such a physical commitment to bowl fast, without even taking into account the skill required, and I believe people overlook how much you must put in when bowling in England. Yes, the new ball swings but it only swings for a relatively short time and it is wrong to dismiss this as an easy place to bowl. The Dukes ball can be helpful in the right conditions but there were plenty of runs scored on that pitch this week — over 1,000 in a rain-reduced contest — so that shows you the other side of bowling here. You have to be consistent, keep a tight line, be patient and keep asking questions. When you have had to do that over such a long period, like Jimmy has, 600 speaks for itself. It was a great moment for him when he dismissed Azhar Ali (above), even without a crowd to celebrate with. In fact, coming on the final day of the second of two Test series, it probably didn’t get the team celebration it would have in normal times. After being in the bubble for 10 weeks, I don’t think any of the guys stayed in the dressing room for more than an hour afterwards. Normally, we would all be sat around together but everyone was understandably keen to get home. We spent a lot of time together in the lobby of the hotel the previous evening when he was on 599. We ordered some food and chilled for two or three hours. It felt like we were toasting the 600 early, sat around chatting and laughing.