Explained | Why James Anderson is embodiment of perfection for bowlers in a batters' world`

Cricket has had its heroes, mostly batters, some all-rounders and a handful of bowlers, to be precise. The game, whose origin is unknown to most avid fans, is like a religion in a few countries, and England happens to be one. From W.G Grace to Jim Laker, from the legendary Ian Botham to dashing David Gower – many inspired generations, but imagine starting to follow the game because of a seamer a world now calls perhaps the greatest, and he’s none other than veteran James Anderson.

The right-arm fast bowler from Lancashire, is close to picking 700 Test wickets – an achievement none other than spinners could dream of. And the best part is Anderson, aged 40, is not done with it yet.

A master of a craft - swing bowling, which barely anyone possesses now – James is not just a regular up-front seamer, but rather the one even the best batsmen feared to face on their good day.

From picking his first Test wicket against Zimbabwe in 2002 to troubling today’s greats – Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, Anderson remains on the top of his game even two decades later. Having an almost perfect bowling action for an outswing bowler, closer to that of Australia’s Damien Fleming, Anderson hunts his wickets at will, with all that he has in his arsenal – an inswinger, a late cutter, a fuller unplayable delivery and, of course, with the older ball too.

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Don’t believe it? Ask either Shubman Gill or Ajinkya Rahane, as both got clean bowled off two of the best reverse-swinging deliveries witnessed in the recent past. While the one from Dale Steyn to Brad Haddin in Port Elizabeth stands tall at the number one spot, these two from Anderson are up there too.

A genius nonetheless, Anderson got better like a fine wine. For a fast bowler, who is expected to touch his prime from mid-20s to early 30s, Anderson defied the odds like a boss and has numbers to press his case to be labelled the best. A Test specialist now, Anderson, since turning 30, played over 110 Tests, and picked nearly 425 wickets at an astonishing average of just around 21.

Now think of any other bowler, let alone a fast bowler, to get closer to these numbers considering the age parameter. As per records, four spinners – Rangana Herath (398 wickets at 27.52), Muttiah Muralitharan (388 wickets at 22.02), the great Shane Warne (386 wickets at 25.36) and Indian veteran Anil Kumble (343 wickets at 30.98) are the ones to fall in the same bracket as that of Anderson.

A thorn in batter’s flesh

From former Australia captain Ricky Ponting to the Indian stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Anderson has gotten everyone’s number. Tendulkar was one of his favourite wickets – having got out to him nine times across several meetings. Test giant Rahane (8) and Kohli (7) aren’t behind either.

His most dismissed batter, however, is another Indian – Cheteshwar Pujara, whom Anderson has picked a record 12 times in Tests. Australia bowler Peter Siddle is second (11 times), and Warner (10*) is third on the list, while Pakistan’s Azhar Ali, Michael Clarke and Kane Williamson – all have got him out nine times across formats.

Be it with a red cherry in hand or a white or even pink ball, the English veteran has achieved greatness everywhere. From becoming the first bowler from England to pick an ODI hat-trick in 2003 against Pakistan at the Oval to going down in history as England’s oldest seamer to bag a five-wicket haul at the Adelaide Oval (Day & Night Test) in 2017, Anderson probably achieved it all.

A pair made in heaven  

Imagine finding an almost-equally good bowling partner for a series; now imagine finding one for 17 years and on – that’s a story of Anderson and Stuart Broad. Having played around 140 Tests together, Broad and Anderson have over 1000 Test wickets between them, and with how both are going about their businesses in the ongoing Ashes 2023, the tally will only increase.

While Anderson, as mentioned above, is nearing 700 Test wickets, his partner in crime - Broad, completed his record 600th Test wicket during the fourth Test in Manchester – becoming the second fast bowler, ironically after Anderson, to achieve this milestone.

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A legacy that will live forever  

The day is probably not far when Anderson will hang his boots from international cricket, putting curtains down on a stellar two-decade-plus cricket career. And if and when that happens, James Anderson will most definitely go down in all of cricket’s history as one of the greatest ever to grace the game, if not the best.

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