James Anderson: England bowler's record-breaking career, in his own words (2024)

Published

4 July 2024

James Anderson will end his record-breaking England career after the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next week.

In a special episode of the Tailenders podcast, Anderson spoke at length about his cricketing life for the first time since he announced he will retire from internationals.

This is James Anderson, in his own words.

Anderson’s father, Michael, was the second-team captain at Burnley Cricket Club, where James was first introduced to the game. Anderson himself says he was “OK at batting and bowling”, until one winter when things began to change.

I do remember the time I became able to bowl quicker, but not the specific moment it happened. At 15, I came back to winter nets at a school in Blackburn and it was coming out a lot quicker. I don't really know why or how that happened, but it did. My best mate David Brown, his dad Peter - I can't remember what shot he played - but I remember the bat breaking. I broke a couple of bats that winter and I felt horrific. I felt like something different had happened. I can't put my finger on why.

People were excited. The captain at the time would say: "Just bowl as fast as you can." Because it was such a change in pace and my body was still developing, I didn't really know where the ball was going and I bowled the odd beamer. I beamed Australia batter Brad Hodge, who was playing for Ramsbottom. He sort of punched it off his face. I can't repeat what he said and I was so apologetic.

In the first over of a game at Burnley I bowled four wides in a row and was thinking "oh my god, this is painful" - then the next ball went straight through the batter and bowled him. It was inconsistent and erratic, but fun.

Anderson famously made his England debut as a 20-year-old in a one-day international in Australia in 2002, called up after a spate of injuries to senior fast bowlers, just over a year after his Lancashire debut.

I've heard Nasser Hussain's dad had seen me play Championship cricket and said I might be worth a look. I got a phone call and was told England wanted me to join them in Sydney. So many questions go through your head but, in reality, I was thinking: "Am I really going to play?" I didn't play the first game in Sydney and then we went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and I got told on the outfield I was playing the next day by Nasser. I was thinking: "I'm just going enjoy this while I'm here, because it might not last. I might never play again."

Nasser was quite intense as a captain and a lot of people didn't like the way he went about things. But for me, as a 20-year-old, I needed that firmness and instruction. He would really tell you what was demanded of you.

He probably had the biggest influence on me, just because of the stage of my career I was at when I played under him.

We had most success under Andrew Strauss, but I don't know whether that was down to his captaincy or just the group of players that we had. Probably more so the group of players.

Anderson's early England career was troublesome - he played only one Test between August 2004 and March 2006 as he battled tweaks to his action and a stress fracture in his back.

Troy Cooley, the bowling coach at the time, was into biomechanics. We had a net session with dots put on us, cameras filming in order to see what the bones were doing in the bowling action. My spine was like an S shape.

They thought I was going to get injured and I could bowl quicker, even though I was bowling 90mph when I first came into the team. They reckon they could have got me up to 95 if I just changed my action a little bit.

I got injured after changing my action and I didn't bowl great for 12 months straight after that period. They weren't trying to damage me, they did it for the best of me and the team.

I was at the point where I didn't think I would play for England again. My wife Danielle was amazing. She said: "Snap out of it, you are definitely good enough."

When I got fit again, I went to Mike Watkinson at Lancashire and Kevin Shine, who was the new England bowling coach, and they said I should go back to my old action. The rest is history.

Anderson will end on 188 Test caps, the most of any England player and the second-highest of all-time. From those, he picked the first Ashes Test against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2013 as his favourite, when Anderson claimed 10 wickets as part of a heart-stopping 14-run win.

It's the best game I've had for England. An Ashes Test, the close nature and I bowled a 13-over spell on the last day trying to bowl them out.

I used all the skills I could possibly think of, everything I had in my armoury. The last wicket, Brad Haddin, was an off-cutter. I didn't actually hear the nick, but Alastair Cook and Matt Prior behind the stumps heard it and then the umpire gave it not out. We had to review it and I asked Haddin if he hit it and he said he did, so we all knew it was going to be given out, but there's still that moment when the decision comes up on the big screen and the umpire puts his finger up.

It was just incredible. There's a great photo of all 11 of us, starting to charge off like a like a flock of geese, running around the ground. It was amazing. The wickets that matter are the ones where you influence games. Contributing to a win like that is the best feeling.

Anderson, one the most complete fast bowlers to ever play the game, described the evolution of skills that have kept him improving across a 21-year Test career, along with a couple of regrets.

In Test cricket, when you have to bowl in so many different conditions around the world, you need so many different skills and I've tried to develop as many as I can. The biggest one that helped me was being able to bowl an in-swinger to a right-hander and an out-swinger to a left-hander.

My record when I couldn't bowl that to left-handers is really poor, but I started learning the in-swinger and it took me about four years to feel confident to bowl it in a game. It just gave me a completely different approach to left-handers, in particular bowling round the wicket.

Just for bragging rights in the pub, I wish I had taken a Test hat-trick. Stuart Broad bangs on about his two quite a lot and he'll always have that on me. I never got a Test hundred either and I was so close at Trent Bridge. I made 81 against India in 2014. I thought I was getting one there, but I didn't make it.

Anderson was asked which attributes would make the perfect bowler. In answering he revealed his admiration for Australia captain and Ashes rival Pat Cummins.

You would pick Glenn McGrath's accuracy and Dale Steyn's wrist position. Being a Lancashire fan, I always loved Wasim Akram's action. He was an insane bowler. He swung it both ways and reversed it really well.

I really like Pat Cummins' action. There was a Test match in Galle in Sri Lanka where I was feeling really stiff after lunch. Mark Wood was at mid-off and I said: "I'm going to copy Pat Cummins' action now and try to bowl like him." I got a wicket in that over and Woody said: "You should bowl like him all the time."

He's got an amazing snap. When he gets to the top of his action, everything seems to go really quick. When he bowls the ball, he just snaps through the crease. Because I was feeling stiff and a bit sluggish, I was trying to recreate that speed and it worked.

Anderson has been part of the Tailenders podcast since it was launched in 2017. He has worked as a TV and radio pundit, and a newspaper columnist. Following his final Test, he will immediately join the England coaching team as a bowling mentor. He is yet to announce if he will continue to play for Lancashire.

I've loved doing Tailenders. It definitely made me fall back in love with the game because at some points it has become just a job. There are some days when you turn up, it's raining and the covers are on and I wasn't actually that bothered.

I honestly don't know what will happen next. I love talking about the game. I love talking about bowling and delving into the technical side of it. I've done a bit of punditry on TV and on the radio, so I will maybe balance that and a bit of coaching.

It's a weird feeling when you've done something for 20 years and then all of a sudden you've got to find something else to do. We went to see a school for my eldest daughter the other day. There was a careers adviser there and I did wonder about asking him some questions.

I'd like a bit of time just to try a few things and see if something sticks.

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