New Delhi: Tension was running high on the first day of the 3rd Test match of the 2010-11 Ashes. Sledges were flying thick and fast in the ground. A fiery Mitchell Johnson taunted James Anderson as he prepared to bowl: “Why are you chirping now mate, not getting wickets?”
Seconds later, Anderson wrecked the wickets of Ryan Harris. The Englishman turned around and put his finger on his lips to silence his Aussie rival at the non-striker’s end.
Fourteen years on and many overs later, Anderson has retired from the longest format of cricket. But, not before leaving behind an enviable record in the wake: 704 wickets from 188 Test matches with the honour of being the third highest wicket taker in the history of the game.
For cricket aficionados, the moments like the one in Gabba are locked in the memory vaults. The two decades-plus gruelling cricket that saw him bowl over 40,000-plus deliveries is a testimony to the greatness of the cricket’s arguably greatest swing bowler, who started way back against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003.
In March, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar succinctly put in words the greatness of Anderson. “700 test wickets is a stellar achievement. A fast bowler playing for 22 years and performing so consistently to be able to take 700 wickets would have sounded like fiction until Anderson actually made it happen. Simply magnificent!” he wrote on ‘X’ when the bowling great reached the milestone in Dharamshala.
The first time I saw Anderson play was in Australia in 2002, and his control over the ball looked special.
Nasser Hussain spoke very highly of him back then and today, I am sure, he would say, “Maine bola tha” — that he had called it so early. 😀
700 test wickets is a stellar… pic.twitter.com/GijfRXYvoY
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 9, 2024
“I still feel as fit as I ever have, like I’m bowling as well as I ever have. I still think I could do a job. But at the same time, I understand that it has to end at some point. The fact that it now is just something I’ve got to deal with and accept,” the 41-year-old English bowler said on 8 July, two days before his final Test match against West Indies.
And true to his words, he snapped four wickets before he retired from cricket at the same venue where he made his Test debut.
After his farewell Test, Anderson will transition into a mentoring role for the rest of the summer, weighing his options for the future. He may continue playing for Lancashire, or even explore a coaching role in England’s winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand.
“That’s way too far ahead… We’ll just see how these next two months go. It’s a trial period, really – for both me and the coaching staff. I need to see if I’m a good fit and if I enjoy it,” he said.
Writing about Anderson, former Australia captain Ian Chappell said that the Englishman “retired as the greatest swing bowler the game has seen”.
“England will miss Anderson as it’s difficult to replace his rare skill. Importantly, though, Anderson’s career is now a celebrated one where he’s recognised as the best swing bowler the game has produced,” he said in the comment section of ESPNcricinfo.
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The promise fulfilled
Burnley, Lancashire is where it all started. His father Michael Anderson, a cricketer himself, recognised the potential of his son. Jimmy, as he is fondly called, went onto hone his bowling skills on the lush Lancashire grounds. The hallmark of a seam bowler was there for all to see — the gentle swing, the rhythmic pace of his run-up, and the unrelenting passion.
In 2002, Anderson made his first-class debut for Lancashire, snaring 50 wickets in just 13 matches at an average of 22.28. His maiden season was studded with three five-wicket hauls. The following year, Anderson etched his name in Lancashire’s record books by becoming the youngest to claim a hat-trick, just a week before his Test debut against Zimbabwe.
This feat was also the first hat-trick at Old Trafford in eight years. In May 2004, Anderson bagged his maiden first-class ten-wicket haul against Worcestershire, cementing his status as a young bowling sensation.
The summer of 2003 marked a memorable milestone in Anderson’s career, as he claimed five wickets in his debut innings. He became the 42nd Englishman to achieve this feat, setting the tone for a remarkable career.
Anderson’s stellar form continued in the subsequent ODI series against Pakistan, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, with the highlight being a hat-trick against Pakistan at The Oval – a first for an English bowler in an ODI in 2003.
Although the Test series against South Africa posed a few challenges that year, Anderson’s talent and potential were undeniable, earning him a central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the prestigious title of Young Cricketer of the Year.
Anderson’s distinctive bowling action, now a familiar sight, was once considered unorthodox. At the point of delivery, he would bow his head, close his eyes, and not gaze in the direction of the batsman. This was after Anderson experimented with bowling with his head up, but found that it compromised his pace.
In 2003, former England fast bowler Bob Willis predicted that Anderson’s action would limit his career to just five years. Little did Willis know that Jimmy would go on to defy convention, enjoying a remarkably durable and successful career.
“He’s a quiet, unassuming lad, but he’s got a fierce competitive spirit,” England’s former Test captain Michael Vaughan wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
This fierce competitiveness was on full display during the 2013 Ashes series, when Anderson engaged in a duel with Michael Clarke, sending down unplayable deliveries to eventually dismiss the Australian captain, and then letting out a fiery celebration.
His choices away from the cricket pitch shows a diverse personality. The Lancastrian was the first cricketer to pose nude for the ‘Attitude’ gay lifestyle magazine in 2010. Anderson has also dabbled in fashion design, collaborating with Elvis Jesus in 2012 and launching his own menswear brand in 2014, with a goal to become the first cricketer-turned-designer.
Additionally, he has endorsed British hair styling brand Hairbond and partnered with watchmaker Harold Pinchbeck, showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit and creative flair beyond the world of cricket.
One for the books
As for the cricketing record books, he’s the only fast bowler to take 700 Test wickets — the third bowler overall to do so after Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708). He has the most Test wickets for England as well as his country’s top ODI wicket-taker with 269 wickets. With 32-five wicket hauls in his Test career, he has the most fifers as an English bowler. Anderson has played the second most Test matches (187 ) after Sachin Tendulkar (200) in the history of the game.
When it comes to his duels with three generations of Indian batsmen, Anderson has taken 149 Test wickets, his highest total against any team. Anderson dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara 12 times followed by Sachin Tendulkar (9), Ajinkya Rahane (8), Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli (7 each), and M.S. Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill (6 each).
In a question and answer session with Sky Sports, Anderson named Tendulkar as the toughest batsman he’s faced. “The best batter I would have to say is Sachin Tendulkar. If you get him out in India, the whole atmosphere in the ground changes. He was such a big wicket,” he said.
While batting against @jimmy9, I noticed his remarkable ability to bowl reverse swing REVERSE!
He is one of the best exponents of this art! Will be interesting to watch him bowl once the ball starts to reverse. #EngvWI @brianlara pic.twitter.com/zhPM8MXsUM
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 9, 2020
And it was none other than the ‘Little Master’, who in a session with another cricket legend Brian Lara, explained the guile and craft of Anderson whom he faced in 14 Test matches.
Anderson’s wrist position, Tendulkar said, would give the impression of bowling an in-coming delivery to make batsmen play a shot accordingly only to realise late that the red ball would reverse swing the other way.
That was Anderson. The wily bowler who could move the ball both sides; the master who — in Tendulkar’s words — ushered in the ‘reverse-reverse swing’ in cricket.
(Edited by Tony Rai)