JIMMY HEADS FOR CENTURY
As Jimmy Anderson (left) prepares to play his 100th Test — needing only three wickets to equal Ian Botham’s England-record haul of 383 — LAWRENCE BOOTH spoke to those who knew him and played with him in his early days
MICHAEL BROWN
(Burnley CC team-mate, now club chairman)
We used to call Jimmy the ‘Pro Killer’. Playing in the Lancashire League, he’d regularly get the opposition professional out. He was quite a slight kid. It was probably when he was 17 that we thought, wow, he’s got some pace. And he had this ability to bowl jaffas. When he bowled so brilliantly against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup everyone at Burnley was saying: ‘We’ve seen these magic balls before.’ My mum can take some of the credit for Jimmy being signed by Lancashire. She rang up John Stanworth, who was at the club at the time. Jimmy was invited for trials by Lancashire and that was that.
JOHN STANWORTH (Former Lancashire player development manager)
When he arrived for Under-17 nets he was a shy introvert but with the ability to bowl at good pace. But it was the late swing that stood out. Even established batsmen struggled to line him up. They were playing and missing all the time. He made them look ordinary. I just left him alone. He had these unusual mannerisms, like not looking at the batsman at the point of delivery and a strange rotation of the shoulders. But I ignored all that even when coaches at other counties were pointing it out. I just said: ‘We’ve got a 17-year-old bowling 80mph and getting the top three out!’
WARREN HEGG (Anderson’s first captain at Lancashire and wicketkeeper)
He burst on to the scene in my first year as captain. There was talk of this kid from the valleys in Lancashire. He wouldn’t say boo to a goose but bowled like the speed of light with the funniest action. He bowled to me in a centre net practice at Old Trafford and was either turning me inside out or hitting me on the shin. I thought: ‘Either I’m losing it or this kid’s special’. And he really was.
MIKE WATKINSON (below) (Anderson’s first coach at Lancashire)
I was coaching Lancashire 2nd team when Jimmy arrived. He had wicked pace back then — probably even more than he has now — but he could be a little inconsistent. Some would swing, others wouldn’t. I tried to convey to him the importance of the relationship between the ball and the fingertips. He related to it straightaway. Since then, he’s worked things out for himself. Jimmy’s been his own best coach.
IAN WARD (Anderson’s first first-class victim: Lancashire v Surrey May 31, 2002)
He had this very fast arm which was difficult to pick up at first. To me, a left-hander, it was an away swinger. I remember getting one that was too good for me and edged it to Warren Hegg. I thought ‘Christ, this guy can bowl!’ That was the talk in the Surrey dressing-room.
NASSER HUSSAIN (below) (Anderson’s first England captain in 2002-03)
He came into the team after yet another Ashes disaster. He was a breath of fresh air, a natural talent — very un-English! He wasn’t over-coached or too technical. He just ran in and bowled swing. He was the kind of player you might get from Pakistan. For such a young lad, he wasn’t someone you needed to overmanage or look after. He was incredibly quiet but he knew exactly what he wanted to do. I knew he was going to be one of our greats. It’s one thing being a swing bowler but it’s the way he could get it to go so late. I faced him just once and he got me first ball at Old Trafford as part of a hat-trick. He’s a very clever cricketer.