600 and swinging: James Anderson’s ascent to pace peak

Anderson became the first paceman to reach 600 Test wickets earlier this week and the fourth bowler to ever achieve this feat

For extended stretches on the fourth and the fifth days at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton earlier this week, it seemed as if the elements and his own teammates were conspiring to delay James Anderson’s tryst with history. When it wasn’t raining, which wasn’t very often, England’s fielders were shelling catches with the regularity of falling autumn leaves. Anderson had decimated the Pakistan top order with the first four wickets to fall, yet it wasn’t until the final ball of the first innings, that, finally, he was able to complete his 29th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

In a bizarre ten-ball burst late on the fourth evening, England put down three catches no more than straightforward. Not prone to histrionics, Anderson’s face hardened, his darkening mood reflecting the angry skies overhead. When Dom Sibley, at long last, did grab a low chance at third slip to end the Pakistani first innings, Anderson couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

The long wait between that slice of action and the resumption of hostilities after scheduled tea on the last day, once Pakistan had been asked to follow on, would have done little to cheer the 38-year-old up. He was perched on 598 Test wickets, no one was sure when England would play another Test match in these Covid-swept times. England’s most prolific wicket-taker was so near, yet so far from becoming the first paceman to reach 600 Test wickets.

That truly is a magical number. Before Anderson, only three other men had persevered long enough to reach that milestone – the spin triumvirate of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. To put things in perspective, when Fred Trueman, the England paceman, became the first in the world to 300 Test wickets, he was asked if he thought anyone would break his record. Typically feistily, the Yorkshireman had replied, “Aye, but whoever does will be bloody tired.”

After a frustrating wait that lasted upwards of four playing hours, Anderson toiled for 86 deliveries in Pakistan’s second knock, deep into the last evening, to seal his place in the pantheon. His 600th was a worthy scalp – Azhar Ali, the Pakistan captain who had made an unbeaten 141 in the first dig – and came in the manner that best encapsulates Anderson. Caught at slip, with a delivery that jagged just that little bit away from the right-hander.

Here was a Lancastrian, from the other half of the War of the Roses, doubling Trueman’s tally. In an extraordinary 156th appearance, with his 33,717th ball in Test matches. Only Muttiah Muralitharan, who took six fewer deliveries, has reached 600 faster. Fair to say that Anderson was ‘bloody tired’ by the time Joe Root wrapped his hands around the ball.

Anderson’s fascinating Test journey has just ticked over to its 18th year. Over time, he has gotten meaner, more dangerous, more versatile, more complete. And he has done all this alongside his staunchest ally, swing.

Easily the premier exponent of his era, if not of all time, of a dying art, it’s understandable for clearly obvious reasons why there is a distinct skew between his home and away numbers. England is the home of swing bowling largely because there is no other cricket-playing country where the atmospheric conditions are as favourable. The Duke ball used in England, which retains its shine and bite longer, facilitates swing for longer periods. These are constants for pace bowlers of all ilk; what has singled Anderson out and made him consistently dangerous for so many years are his relentless accuracy, his exceptional wrist and seam positions, and a burning fire that hasn’t dimmed one bit despite so many miles in the legs.

There are very few cricketers who possess better records overseas than at home. Anderson is no exception – a whopping 384, or 64 per cent, of his wickets have come in England, at an average of 23.83 and a strike rate of 50.2, both significantly superior to corresponding career numbers of 26.79 and 56.2 respectively. Does that detract from his legacy? Did it make Warne a lesser bowler because he didn’t enjoy the same success in India as elsewhere? Is Ponting not a behemoth because, like his fellow Aussie, he wasn’t quite as prolific in India as in other corners of the globe? The answer, one supposes, is obvious.

Anderson’s career has overlapped for the large part with his great mate and destroyer in arms, Stuart Broad – ironically, Broad’s debut in Sri Lanka in 2007 came at Anderson’s expense. Between them, they have more than 1,100 Test wickets; Anderson himself has easily outlasted a few generations of England quicks, turning up each day in an unrelenting, uncompromising quest for perfection. At 38, it isn’t his spirit alone that is willing.

(R Kaushik is a Bangalore-based cricket writer with nearly three decades of experience)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.