150 Tests of James Anderson: A tribute to the king of swing

The year was 2003. England was taking on minnows Zimbabwe at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. The then 22-year old young fast bowler, responding to the name of James Anderson ripped through the opposition batting line up, taking 5/73 on his debut Test and etched his name on the prestigious Honours Board.

More than 16 years later, Anderson is still playing top flight cricket, and has morphed into possibly one of the greatest fast bowlers in the longest format of the game. In the Boxing Day Test against South Africa on 26th December 2019, Anderson appeared in a record 150th Test match for his country, the second Englishman after Sir Alastair Cook to do so. He holds the record for the most number of wickets for a fast bowler with a colossal 577 scalps to his name. He is 37 years old, but still has the burning desire to go out there and win a match for his country with the cherry in hand.

Anderson is a man who does not have express pace, but makes the ball talk with his ability to move the ball both ways. The new ball in his hand is a potent weapon, a weapon that has breached through the defenses of many a great batsmen in the game’s history, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, and Virat Kohli.

There are several moments from his illustrious career that cricketing aficionados will remember with a great sense of fondness. The way he troubled Virat Kohli when India toured England in 2014 is one of the widely talked about of his career. In the 10 innings put together, Anderson dismissed Kohli on four occasions. The moving ball in overcast English conditions proved to be the downfall for Kohli and the batting dynamite averaged a miserable 13.40 during the whole series. The Indian batting talisman played away from the body, and Anderson capitalised on this weakness and exploited it by moving the ball away.

Another spell of the legendary fast bowler that will never be forgotten is the 5/43 that he took against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2017. His lethal fast bowling helped England shot out the Aussies for just 138 runs in the second innings of the hard fought Test. Even though Australia went on to win the match, Anderson’s mastery with the ball was on display for all to see.

The fast bowling machine still has some gas left in the tank and he will continue to trouble opposition batsmen with his mastery with the ball for a few years and Tests to come. And, by becoming the first fast bowler to feature in 150 Tests, Anderson has carved out a niche for himself with his sheer longevity.

And certainly, he is not done yet!