This week at Lord’s is about celebrating the greatest seam bowler of all time. There will never be another like him
here were times during my Test career, sitting in the dressing room reflecting on things quietly, when I almost could not believe how lucky I was to be in the same England team aswhen Jimmy was 31. So he was already 11 years an international, just short of 100 caps. He had won the Ashes home and away, formed an all-time great partnership with Stuart Broad and been central to a historic series win in India two years earlier.
In more than 50 Tests together since then there wasn’t a day where we fell out, on or off the field. And to be fair, I am someone who likes to take the mickey in the dressing room. Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Broady … the size of the reputation doesn’t usually matter to me. We laughed a lot over the years – saying hello to him every morning in a different voice was my thing – but I never gave him any stick. Why? Because he is Jimmy Anderson.
There I was, two Tests into my England career, watching a guy who had already experienced and achieved so much in tears at the other end. I was gutted for him, rather than myself or the team, because he worked so hard and played so well. Test cricket is pretty unforgiving and people forget what this means for guys down the order, doing the thing they are not paid to do.
It is a shame it has to end because, even now, coming up to 42, he can still bowl as well as he ever has. Just look at thatSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionThen you remember he is England’s record wicket-taker in one-day internationals . Jimmy was a serious white-ball bowler but that decision by Eoin Morgan to move on in 2015 meant he could focus solely on Test cricket.
In that respect, Jimmy probably helped Broady more than the other way around. People tried to see off Jimmy and then Broady would do his thing at the other end. What made Broady so special was five-wicket hauls in sharp bursts where he almost sensed the moment, whereas Jimmy’s were more methodical, setting guys up, nipping out three up top, maybe two at the bottom. Two very different characters and bowlers; one amazing partnership.
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