Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2017: Top 10 Test bowlers of the year

James Anderson

Anderson ended the year as the top-ranked Test bowler

2017 proved to be a record-breaking year for James Anderson. He became the first Englishman to enter the 500-wickets club, when he castled Kraigg Brathwaite in the third Test at Lord's. He ended that Test with personal best figures of 7/42, helping England claim the series 2-1.

This came after he had picked up 20 wickets across four matches against South Africa.

Much was expected of Anderson when England headed out to Australia for the Ashes, but he struggled by his lofty standards in conditions that did not aid swing. Picking up just two wickets at Brisbane, he upped his level significantly in the second Test at Adelaide, scalping five wickets in the second innings.

He followed that up with four-wicket match hauls at Perth and Melbourne to end the year with 55 wickets to his name at an average of just 17.5 and an economy of 2.26. Anderson also closed out 2017 sitting pretty at the top of the ICC rankings for Test bowlers, just about edging out Kagiso Rabada.