Five Best Bowling Performances of James Anderson

Let us have a look at the five best bowling performances of James Anderson. He is ranked as one of the best fast bowlers among the current players. He did not start his career with a bang but picked it up gradually. His consistent bowling with the ability to swing the ball both ways has given him much of the fame. He works hard on his bowling and flaunts a smooth and rythemic action. Let us look at his best five:

5. 3 for 38 vs India

It was a golden opportunity for England to win a historic Test series in India. And Anderson rose to the occasion to seal it for his team taking 3 wickets for 38 runs. The stat may not look staggering but his bowling was fabulous. He was reverse swinging the old ball, was using the new ball very well. He troubled the Indian batsmen on the Eden Garden track and he helped England to get rid of the Indian batting line up for just 247 and after that a 41 run target was a mere formality for the Englishmen.

4. 4 for 29 vs Pakistan.

Jimmy Anderson was just a new boy in the international scene. He was considered good enough to be part of the English World Cup squad in 2003 and he got his fame from there when he picked 4 wickets against Pakistan in his 10 overs by giving away only 29 runs. He picked up Inzamam and Yousuf in the same over to put Pakistan in trouble while chasing 247. He later sent Saeed Anwar and Rashid Latif back as well to make things worse for Pakistan. He bowled quick and was totally in control with his bowling.

3. 5 for 23 vs South Africa

The five ODI series against the hosts South Africa was level at 1-1 after 3 matches. England were keen to win the fourth game to take an unbeatable lead in the series. Anderson guided England to a thumping win by claiming his first ever 5 wicket haul in ODIs. He produced one of the best performances of his life with his sublime accurary and consistency with the ball. He bagged 5 wickets in his 10 overs giving away only 23 runs.

2. 7 for 43 vs New Zealand

After scoring 364 runs in the first innings, what England required was a quick wrap up of the Kiwis in the third Test match of the series. Jimmy gained his momentum early in the innings and kept it thorughout. He picked up seven wickets in the innings to thrash New Zealand for 113 and these 7 wickets included all top five batsmen. He never allowed any batsmen to settle in. He was also awarded man of the match for producing his career best figures in an innings.

1. 5 for 54 and 6 for 17 vs Pakistan

Nottingham has been a happy hunting ground for Anderson. He exploited the conditions in the first Test vs Pakistan to the best. He was hitting the correct spot during the full course of the match and hardly bowled any bad ball in both the innings. He completed his 5 wickets in the first innings while taking crucial wickets just when Pakistan started to consolidiate. But then in the second innings he gave no chance to any of the Pakistani batsmen to even hang in there by taking 6 wikcets for just 17 runs. England won the game by a huge margin of 354 runs thanks to Anderson’s first 10 wicket haul in a Test match. England went on to win the series 3-1 but for more than the cricket this series will be remembered for the spot fixing saga of the Pak trio of Butt, Asif and Amir.