James Anderson's Test career spanned 20 years, 179 matches and 685 wickets.
This is the 2010-11 season. The Ashes series and Mike Hussey is the best batsman on the Australian team. 'Mr Cricket' threatens another dominance in Australia.
James Anderson started the tour with 52 test wickets overseas and an average of 43 away from home. A year earlier, Justin Langer described him as a «bastard» because he quickly backed off when the ball wasn't swinging.
He now led England in attack and Hussey started with plenty of points. 195, 93, 52, 61 and 116. The streak was locked 1-1 after three tests.
Hussie, a man who never sledged or joked on the field, was unstoppable, but Anderson blew ice lining.
“He kept saying to Hass, 'Okay, Dave,'” Graeme Swann recalls. “If Huss drove him for four, Jimmy would say: “Shot it, Dave” or “Okay, Dave.” He did it in three tests. Out of the blue, Huss said, «For God's sake, Jimmy, I'm Mike Hussey, not Dave, he's my brother.» Jimmy, with a straight face, said, «Oh, I'm sorry, Dave,» and left. It was like Trigger from Only Fools and Horses. It was majestic.»
Anderson didn't spare Mike Hussey in the 2010-11 Ashes series in Australia. Photo: AP/Tertius Pickard
Hussey's points in the last two Tests were 8, 0, 33 and 12 as England won both matches by innings. «Hass even contacted Collie [Paul Collingwood] in Sydney, he was so beat up by Jimmy,» says Swann. «It was a pathetic school joke, but once you took a bite of it, you won.»
«I wouldn't be surprised if Jimmy will score the first goal in Brisbane at the next Ashes
Stuart Broad and Anderson are the only two English cricketers still in Test cricket from that series and almost 13 years later they are preparing to play a role in the latest Ashes story as two fully registered members of the Bazball ethos.
A few weeks ago, Broad sent Anderson a message about the 20th anniversary of his Test debut; Ben Stokes too. “The captain said he was 11 when I debuted. Some people on social media wrote that they were minus three. Makes you feel old,” says Anderson.
Imagine how Steve Harmison feels. He says he could tell in seconds that Anderson had «ridiculous skills» when he played his test debut at Lord's in 2003. He was also a teammate when Anderson was called up to play white ball cricket on the Ashes tour of England in 2002. -03. “He made his ODI debut two days before me, which is scary. He's still playing and I'm looking down and I can barely see my shoes.»
Anderson burst onto the scene in 2003 on a series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Barker
Sir Alastair Cooke is another old colleague who shakes his head and marvels at Anderson's longevity; the former captain's reliable bowler, surviving him in Test cricket by four years or more.
Although he has a theory. “I remember Brody once telling me that if he throws at 70% force the ball goes everywhere, but if Jimmy throws at 70% force the ball still hits the correct length. He can take sessions if he needs to, and then be able to level up when he needs to, so he doesn't get that much out of his body.”
Broad thinks there's still a lot left in the tank. «I wouldn't be surprised if he scores the first goal in Brisbane in the next series of Ashes.» Of course not. “He is addicted to cricket. He likes to be in the locker room. He's looking after the next series of Ashes in Australia.»
Central contracts, a relatively low cricket modern schedule for the red ball specialist and no one-night matches since 2015 are the reasons Anderson survived, not the secret to a long life. «One of his favorite foods is a pint of beer and a burger, which can't be said about [Cristiano] Ronaldo,» says Broad.
He mostly held out thanks to his formidable ability to land 5.5 ounces of leather per length. “Every Duke ball is unique,” says Swann. “But his first ball in length will always be flawless. The line may not be due to him knowing how hard the ball will wobble, but I genuinely felt there might be a hold in his first throw to slip.»
Anderson and Stuart Broad enjoyed a legendary Test cricket partnership. Photo: PA/David Davies
Standing in the middle of this opening will be Broad. “For the first four balls of the test match, I leave him alone, then I ask him, is he swinging, sewing? Ultimately, our job is to find the top of the stump on that particular field faster than the first batters, and if we do that, we'll be successful. The fastest way to do this is to communicate and share as much information as possible. If we say every other ball, and the batters only say every six balls, then we have an advantage.”
Anderson goes through pictures, one from each of his 20 years as a test cricketer, and he doesn't want to hang all of them on the wall. One of them lay face down in the mud at Wanderers in January 2005, when he bowled so badly that he wondered if he would ever play for England again. «He was a young adventurer working on his game, but not confident in himself or international standards,» says Michael Vaughn, then captain.
Anderson made his debut for the England cricket team in 2002. Photo: Getty Images/Tom Shaw. daytime cricket. He made 10 out of 12 overs on a hot day in Adelaide in January 2002 and four out of 29 against Pakistan in a World Cup match in Cape Town shortly thereafter. In Test cricket he struggled, his moves were changed by England to protect him from injury and he drifted.
“He had an away swinger, an inswinger, a dodgeball, a yorker, and he was a lot faster back then. The only problem was that he was a little naive. He wanted to beat them all in one go,” says Harmison. “He went through a change of action, it didn’t work. He was disappointed. He was on and off the team. He was expensive, he lost his place.”
That all changed when he was paired with Broad in Wellington 15 years ago at the expense of Harmison and Matthew Hoggard. “Me and Hoggy were mentally and physically finished. It was the right time for Brody, but Jimmy had been through a lot. For him, it was now or never. He enjoyed the responsibility of taking the place of two 2005 bowlers. Now he was in charge. It was Jimmy Anderson who went from being a young bowler to what he is now.”
“There were no bulls between us – about cricket.”
Each year there is an annual Ryder Cup between Broad's team and Anderson's team. team. “He invites 11 friends from Burnley and I invite 11 friends from Nottingham. Jimmy won the most.»
Their off-field friendship is strong, and Brod knows Anderson better than anyone else on the team. He has seen good times and bad. The best moments on the tour and the low ones when players can feel lonely and far from home.
“I had to pick him up a lot, and he took me,” says Brod. “I remember when he was away for Lola's 13th birthday. She was going to have lunch with family and friends. She called him for food. That evening I invited him to dinner because I could see how humble he was. «What am I doing here when my daughter turns into a teenager?» That's when friends are important on tour.»
When Cooke first met Anderson, he insulted him on the pitch, calling him «every name under the sun» when he fired him hooked at Chelmsford, but they continued to be close. “We did room service together during the tour. Sometimes it was just me and him, and we hardly spoke to each other. We ate, and then he came out and said: “Thank you for a great evening.” I sat and thought we didn't talk much, but I think it shows how close we were because we were comfortable watching TV together in silence. On the field, things were different. There were no bulls between us back then — about cricket.»
Alastair Cook played 161 Tests for England between 2006 and 2018, but Anderson outlived him for a while. Photo: Reuters/Philip Brown
It is Brod who can tell us the most about Anderson, the cricketer. Listening to him talk about their partnership and how they fit together is fascinating. Ottis Gibson, former England bowling coach, called Broad a «scientist» and Anderson an «artist». Brod would probably agree with that.
“We probably swear at each other more than anyone else. We have to be extremely honest with each other in bowling. We agreed with each other that if one of us has something wrong with the ball, we will tell the other, because if you don't know, you can't fix it. The art of great friendship is that you take it on board and move on. He can send me to hell, but it gets to me. Over tea, he can apologize. It works the other way around as well.
“You know what people say: Jimmy Anderson is the king of swing. I'd say he hasn't bowled in the last six or seven years. He bowls the seam wobbly. It is ruthless with its length. He hits shorter than you think. He throws balls that score a wicket. I've been lucky enough to get it mid-on or mid-off and its Rolls-Royce-like run-up is smooth, effortless, stress-free. It's very nice.»
They both had to pick each other up a year ago when they weren't touring the West Indies as the Joe Root era was dying a slow death. But it was a blessing. Since then, they have enjoyed Stokes and Brandon McCallum.
“He was short, I was short. We talked on FaceTime the day we found out about it. I was more articulate in the interview, but I think he was more devastated. Quietly backstage he was angry; furious. Quite right, in fact. It was unforgivable. If you didn't take one of us, fair enough. I raise my hand if you take one, you take him instead of me, but it was wrong not to take both of us. We thought, right, we need an elevator. What shall we do? Play on the old field. Bang, we've booked a trip to Scotland. We had a great time and were refreshed for the season.”
The condition for Stokes to become captain was that two were recalled. “It immediately became great leadership. When you hear this as a player… I'd run through a brick wall for Stokes; Jimmy is the same. It helped us stop thinking about the economic stakes all the time.
England rejuvenated under Ben Stokes and Brandon McCallum Credit & Copyright: PA/Steve Patson
“Stokesey and Baz brought an element of entertainment and fun to practice and matches. When you're 36 and 40, you need fun. Whatever happens now, Jimmy and I will leave the game at some point with indelible memories of the past years, which were incredible.»
Cook says shortly before the two played against each other in the beginning season for Essex and Essex. Lancashire. Anderson was twice about to fire his old buddy for a wobbly seam, a ball that slips and the bowler doesn't know which way it's going to go. “The study of the rocking seam took it to the next level. He has such control over it.”
Why Anderson is Mr. Grumpy on the pitch
Fast bowlers are known for being grumpy, Anderson says he has two personalities. He's James off the field, Jimmy on the field. In other words, Mister Good and Mister Evil. Over the past couple of years, he has become less aggressive on the field, but this was not always the lot of opponents like Hussey.
Recall the anecdote about Swann: “What I love most about Jimmy is that his self-confidence is so strong in his own bowling alley. He's so stubborn, which is why he's the best bowler we've ever had. I remember once we played in Sri Lanka at Lord's, and they had a left-hander. He must have hit 17 or 18 away swingers with that southpaw going through him. He played and missed them all.
«Straussi next to me said, 'I think it's time for Jimmy to hit the inwinger.' Do you disagree? Who will tell him? Matty Pryor said, «I don't do that.» I said, «I don't do that either.»
“So, Struissy ran across the field to tell him. Jimmy saw him coming on the big screen. He didn't even turn around. «Damn it, Strauss.» And then stubbornly knocked the swinger out for the next two overs. He did it much later than he should have. Beefy [Ian Botham] would go crazy in a Sky box. Of course, in the end he took the inswinger out and put him out of the game.”
Swann is warming up now. The stories come fast and fast: “The worst thing about Jimmy is if you ever make a mistake with him. I did it once in Lord's against South Africa. He didn't speak to me for two days. Complete silence.
“Then I was bowling at AB de Villiers and I beat him in the air and he had the easiest catch in midwicket and Jimmy lost. It was the end of the over. I said to Jimmy, «What the fuck.» He walked past me and said, «Serves you right, damn it, right.» Haha. Then he spoke to me after that. He decided «It'll show him» and pretended he did it on purpose.
Graham Swann was not the best pleased when Anderson turned down AB de Villiers. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Gilham
Cook had to treat him like a captain, the pair sometimes clashed over pitches and tactics. “The hardest part about being his captain is that he was my assistant. We might have had a few heart-to-heart conversations, but they were all about the same thing: England was winning and he was a good bowler. I think that's why we got along so well. We quarreled because people are stubborn, they quickly forgot about it, and we moved on.”
How long this will last, one can only guess. Anderson will not set a retirement date. Wide is the same. Both are enjoying a new era for England and can still wear the shirt.
If this is Anderson's last summer, he will leave some legacy behind. “We are not just a couple who played together on the field. We will be friends for life,” says Brod.
“We don't play for numbers or statistics, we play for the feeling at the end of the test, when you worked hard together to take 20 wickets and win the test with your friends. It's a feeling you can't get outside of sports.»
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