Jimmy Anderson

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/dec/15/twenty-years-of-jimmy-anderson-from-frosted-tips-to-statistical-marvel

I had thought of putting this under "The cricket..." but decided that Jimmy warranted a thread all of his own.

I have watched very little cricket in recent years. The last match I attended in person was Glamorgan v Essex, Swansea 1995. It was rain-affected and Nasser Hussain and Ronnie Irani knocked up some runs. I only bother to watch highlights these days. Trying to track down live sport on an increasingly bewildering panoply of channels, mostly paid for by ill-gotten gains of some dodgy company or other, is too much for me.

However, I digress. I was still watching live cricket when Jimmy Anderson started playing tests and my impression was that he was perhaps the weakest of a decent crop of England fast bowlers who appeared on the scene at about the same time. I'm struggling to remember the names of the others without looking them up. I think Matthew Hoggard was one. There was a Steve* something - played for Co Durham I think - and wavered madly between devastating and wildly useless.

But Jimmy has outlasted them all and seems to have gone an entire fast bowling career with hardly any injury, which in itself is a remarkable achievement. Still to be one of the top handful in the world at his age is not far short of miraculous.

*Had to google as the name wouldn't come. Harmison. I think there were a couple of others but they have faded into the mists.

[JonB]

I read that piece and it really is striking what he has achieved, particularly when you take into account that there was a period when he was out of favour and attempts to remodel his action proved to be disastrous, for example he didn't feature in the Ashes team or squad in 2005. What I found really striking is that the young leg spinner in the current England squad, Rehan Ahmed*, wasn't even born when Jimmy made his debut. Back around this time I did wonder whether England would ever produce another 300 test wicket bowler and we've since had Anderson and Broad who have both passed 300 some time ago. It has been pure joy to watch how he has executed his skills and bamboolzed batsmen in a similar way that high class spinners have done over the years.

In terms of the other bowlers you mention as emerging at a similar time, you're right about Hoggard and Harmison, both did very well with over 200 test wickets each but unfortunately Harmison lost his radar in the latter part of his career. The other person who you might be thinking of was Welshman Simon Jones, whose career was blighted by injury. For a fast bowler he had a very short run up and bowled very effective reverse swing.  He was a key element in the pace attack, along with Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff, that defeated Australia in 2005 but never really came back after a long term injury kept him out of the side for the last test at the Oval.

[Wowbagger]

Oh yes, Simon Jones. Didn't he do massive damage to a knee ligament whilst attempting some sort of sliding stop to try to prevent a boundary? I seem to recall seeing that on television and wincing myself at what must have been excruciating pain.

[JonB]

Oh yes, Simon Jones. Didn't he do massive damage to a knee ligament whilst attempting some sort of sliding stop to try to prevent a boundary? I seem to recall seeing that on television and wincing myself at what must have been excruciating pain.

Yes, it was horrible, I think it was in a test match in Australia where one of the outfields was of a composition that made sliding difficult, I think at some point after Ricky Ponting did a demo for visiiting players about how to dive or slide on the surface to minimise injury.

[Jaded]

It is interesting how Jimmy A has got better with time, and I recall him completely changing his style, after an early injury threatened to rule him out of the game forever.

I like the way he bowls 5 or fewer overs, being used for the new ball and critical times in matches.

[Jaded]

Jimmy rested for the third test in Pakistan.

[gibbo]

I've always thought of Simon Jones as being the best bowler we never had. Such a talent when he was fit. There are some great YouTube clips of his wickets, I particularly like his 5for in the 2005 Ashes series.

[Wowbagger]

Ah! 2005...

That was the year after my mother died and I swallowed my principles for my dad's sake and paid Murdoch for the privilege of watching cricket on the telly. I just checked the dates of that match and it was after he left us in an ambulance and he was still in a mental hospital before being admitted to a home for the last 20-odd months of his life.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Not to take away anything from Jimmy Anderson's care and dedication to fitness - improvements in modern physiotherapy and conditioning have a part to play in the longevity of careers, as well as central contracts which mean that the top players aren't worn down by countless matches. 

Bob Willis bowled a 14-over spell at the age of 34 trying to prevent New Zealand's first test win in England - https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-tour-of-england-1983-62081/england-vs-new-zealand-2nd-test-63344/full-scorecard - at that time, he was pretty much the oldest fast bowler around - and unusual in that he played almost as many matches for England as he did for his county Warwickshire.  He had 899 wickets in a first class career (308 matches), with 325 in 90 tests.

Jimmy Anderson has 1073 wickets in his first class career (282 matches), with 675 in 177 tests - so has bowled more in tests than other first class matches.

John Snow, 10 years before Bob Willis, had 1174 wickets (346 matches) with 202 in 49 tests

Fred Trueman, another generation earlier, had 2304 wickets (603 matches) with 307 in 67 tests.

Jimmy would have to play on until his mid-50s (adjusting for some one-day cricket) to get the amount of bowling in that Fred Trueman did.