"I thought I wasn't good enough" - James Anderson recalls his nerve-wracking debut experience

James Anderson is one of the greatest seamers to have graced the game, but the veteran bowler recently spoke of his self-doubt in the early stages of his career. Anderson initially felt he wasn't good enough to belong on the international stage, stating that playing for England seemed like a huge step up for him.

James Anderson made his Test debut at Lord's in 2003 against Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Nasser Hussain. The fast bowler gave away 17 runs in his first over. Recalling his debut, Anderson almost questioned his right to be there. He was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo:

"I thought I wasn't good enough. I thought it was a huge step up from county cricket, I remember Nasser [Hussain] didn't have a fine leg for me and I went for quite a few runs. My first ball was a no-ball as well so there were a lot of nerves there and I did feel like this was maybe a step too far for me at that point."

Good to be back 🏏🌹 pic.twitter.com/t4VWDv3orY

— James Anderson (@jimmy9) May 10, 2021

However, James Anderson made a strong comeback and picked up a five-for by cleaning up the Zimbabwean tail, thereby earning the first of his six entries on the Lord's honors board. He added:

"I think I cleaned up the tail in that game. Until you play against the best players in the world and you've got them out, only then do you feel like you can compete and belong there."

James Anderson on verge of becoming England's most capped Test player

Test match week at Lords 😁 pic.twitter.com/qkDq4vJezg

— James Anderson (@jimmy9) June 1, 2021

James Anderson is expected to overtake Alastair Cook in terms of most appearances for England in Tests. If the pacer features against New Zealand on Thursday, it will be his 162nd Test appearance, the most by an Englishman.

A fast bowler with such longevity in international cricket is almost unheard of. Anderson interestingly stated that a stress fracture in his back in 2005 made him go back to his old action, which, in turn, elongated his career. James Anderson said in this regard:

"The stress fracture was like hitting the re-set button I guess. I'd gone through a lot of changes in my action before that and that stress fracture was probably a Godsend. It made me go back to my old action and since then I've felt really comfortable and got more consistent."

Ironically, the 38-year-old suffered a stress fracture in 2005 after the ECB tried to remodel his bowling action to reduce the chances of him becoming injury-prone. A switch to his old action sees Anderson still going strong in 2021, while picking up a whopping 903 wickets in international cricket along the way.

Beaten by the weather again this week 🌧🌧🌧Managed to forget to pack my bats for the game which I think is a first! Thanks to @graynics for getting some more Tailenders to me in time for the game 🏏#tailendersoftheworlduniteandtakeover pic.twitter.com/zHeOHqqiw9

— James Anderson (@jimmy9) May 23, 2021

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