The long-awaited battle for the Ashes has begun with the 1st Test between Australia and England commencing on the 23rd of November. James Anderson will be a key player for England as England look to retain the Urn, no small task as they take on the Aussies in their own backyard.
Anderson has proved himself as one of the most prolific fast bowlers in England’s history and became the first English bowler to take 500 Test wickets, only the 3rd seamer in world cricket to ever achieve the feat behind Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh. To put this into context, Ian Botham, England’s 2nd highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket has 383 scalps.
Overall numbers
500 wickets, in any form of the game, at any level, would be enough to prove that you are a pretty decent bowler. What’s impressive about Anderson is that apart from his excellent average and decent strike-rate, he has also won 8 Man of the Match awards and 5 Man of the Series awards in Tests – meaning, he has had a pretty strong say in his team’s fortunes. In comparison, the two other fast bowlers who crossed the 500-wicket mark, Glenn McGrath took 563 at an average of just over 21, won 11 MoM and 5 MoS awards while Courtney Walsh’s record stands at 4 MoM and 2 MoS awards after taking 519 wickets at an average of 24.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Anderson is rated by many as one of England’s greatest, if not the greatest English bowler to play Tests. The impact he has had on English cricket is great and he has been at the forefront of some of England’s greatest successes during the past 15 years.
Anderson’s numbers are particularly good at home. The conditions in England suit his style almost perfectly and the swing bowler has made good use of the favourable state of things and possesses a phenomenal record at home, one that is better than his overall record.
Stats at home
One of the biggest claims by his critics however, has been that although 500 wickets is a great achievement, Anderson has been more of a ‘home-track bully’ and has not done well outside England. Asia is the greatest challenge for any pace bowler and many suggest that Anderson’s record in the sub-continent proves that although he is good, he does not qualify as a ‘Great’ bowler.
Stats in Asia (and UAE)
No doubt, looking at these numbers, the critics seem right. An average of 30 and a strike-rate of 60+ would suggest that Anderson has been pretty poor in Asia. In the context of World Cricket, India could be considered one of the toughest places to tour with many teams struggling to register Test wins let alone Test Series wins there. England came from a game behind to register a historic series win in India under Alastair Cook, back in 2012. In the 4-match series, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann were the stars with the ball for England as they claimed the series 2-1. However, the numbers may not show it but Anderson was a key player during the series, bowling the tough overs on one end as Swann and Panesar attacked on the other. This fact is perhaps reflected in his economy rate in Asia, where he plays more of a defensive role than he does in England.
The Ashes
Overall numbers
England’s greatest foes have always been the Aussies and the Ashes are to them the pinnacle of Test cricket. Unfortunately for Anderson, his record in the Ashes is worse than his record in Asia. And it doesn’t get better when you take out his numbers at home.
Ashes numbers in Australia
The numbers do tell a story, however, one should also consider Anderson’s impact in Ashes wins away from home. In the 2010/11 series Down Under, England registered their 1st Ashes series win away from home since 1985 and it is fair to say that Anderson had a role to play in that historic win. He did not manage a single 5-wicket haul but picked up 24 wickets at an average of just over 26, definitely a performance which should not be overlooked.
The debate
England have the tough task of retaining the Ashes over the next few weeks and there is no doubt that Anderson will have a key role to play in their fortunes, in what could be his final series down-under.
The question remains, is he right up there amongst the best or are his numbers a mere reflection of his success at home?
