James Anderson

Profile

Blessed with raw pace following a growth spurt in his teens, James Anderson was pushed to the England fold without a single county appearance. His performances for Burnley Cricket Club were all that spoke for him when the highest level of cricket beckoned. As with contemporaries like Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, his speed was enough to unsettle the very best.

An early ODI debut against Australia handed to him on the back of a mere five List A matches resulted in a hammering (1/46 off 6). Anderson later went onto represent Lancashire, becoming a prolific county wicket-taker. Selected for the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, impressive spells against Pakistan were tarred by a disastrous last over against Australia which knocked England out. He later made his Test debut, recording five scalps against Zimbabwe at Lord’s. Often, the physical demands of pace bowling have taken a toll on Anderson, resulting in various injuries to his knee, ankle and back.

All through his budding years, under his coaches Duncan Fletcher and Peter Moores, Anderson’s form remained inconsistent. While an ODI regular ever since his debut, his inconsistent Test form saw him repeatedly dropped in favour of Simon Jones, Liam Plunkett and Stuart Broad. Poor outings at South Africa (2005) and Australia (2006) were nullified by impressive displays against India at home in 2007 and on tour to New Zealand (2008). Bowling blitzkriegs on regular occasions meant that he did record five-wicket hauls against most Test oppositions.

Finally, it was only under Andy Flower’s guidance that England’s golden boy came of age, recording his 100th Test and ODI wickets against India and South Africa in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Later in 2009, he featured in all five Ashes Tests resulting in England’s retention of the coveted urn. By 2010, “Jimmy” had become an England regular taking wickets in bulk in all forms of cricket.

Fast Facts

 

• James Anderson was England’s first player to record an ODI hat-trick. It also made him only the 17th player in the world to achieve that feat.
• He became the first Englishman to dismiss India’s golden trio of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly in the same innings.

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Career

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