England’s amazing brothers in arms

THE year 2005 will always hold a special place in English cricket history.

Not just because the Ashes were regained for the first time in 26 years, but because i t was the year Jimmy Anderson first met Stuart Broad.

It was as county opponents for Lancashire and Leicestershire, and first blood went to Anderson who got Broad out for seven – only to lose the match by four runs.

The men who would go on to become giants of the game and stand atop the English bowling charts at No.1 and No. 2 didn’t even speak to each other 14 years ago.

But here in the West Indies the great mates have taken their combined tally of Test wickets past 1,000.

Sacrifice

It is a mind- boggling number that reflects not only the quality of their bowling skills and the longevity of their careers, but something deeper than that.

It is a tangible recognition of the hours of sacrifice made by both men to their craft.

The dedication it has taken behind the scenes and away from the cameras.

In the gym, in the nets, and out in the middle when there isn’t a batsman to be seen, just a coach with a baseball mitt.

And yet there was a tinge of sadness, even controversy, that despite more than 11 years at the top together the moment of that 1,000th wicket came when one of them was absent.

Left out of the opening Test against the West Indies, Broad could only tweet: “Jimmy walked off the field and shook my hand. 1,000 Test match wickets between us for England and a lot of fun along the way.”

It was understandable in Sri Lanka where a trio of spinners dominated the bowling workload, but in Barbados it was absurd that Joe Root left Broad on the sidelines on a pitch that would surely have suited him.

The call swiftly came here in Antigua for Broad to return to the side.

He has been by f ar England’s most threatening man with ball in hand and could have taken many more than the three wickets he managed on day two.

And when Broad took two scalps in one over it was easy to think back to any one of those whirlwind spells that made him indispensable to previous skippers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook at places such as The Oval, The Wanderers, Trent Bridge and Wellington.

“I was gutted to miss out in Barbados,” said Broad.

“Selection didn’t go my way, and I didn’t have too much to complain about.

“But now I’m back I feel good about my new run up, I feel balanced at the crease which is good for me at the start of what I think could be a big year.”

It i s those spells of unplayable fast bowling from Broad, or hooping swing from Anderson since their first Test together in 2008 that has come t o define t heir partnership.

“It was an honour to have the best seat in the house for a few years when those two great bowlers were on song,” said Matt Prior, who collected 121 catches from the pair.

“What I loved about the way they work together is that it didn’t actually matter who was getting the wickets.

“If one of them was being successful then they knew England would be doing well – and that is what mattered most.

Threat