Exit Anderson, Enter Atkinson?
Anderson's first test was test match number 1646, his last is number 2538. Of the 892 tests in this span, he played in a staggering 21%. This is also a tribute to the emphasis England has put on test cricket.
Few games love statistics as much as cricket. And when you have a bowler playing his 188th test match, he becomes a statistician’s delight. If James Michael Anderson were a chemical element, he would probably have been an alchemist’s favourite, being experimented with to create gold. As it stands, he has come to exemplify the gold standard for England’s aspiring pace bowlers, not just by his longevity but his quality as well.
The mind boggles when one looks at the sheer career span of Anderson. He’s been around forever, making his debut against Zimbabwe way back in May 2003. His first test was test match number 1646, his last is number 2538. Of the 892 tests in this span, he played in a staggering 21%. This is also a tribute to the emphasis England has put on test cricket.
Trending
Back when Anderson bowled in a test for the first time, India was still recovering from a world cup final defeat. Ganguly, Dravid and team had yet to scale the heights they would see in Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04. The Greg Chappell chapter of Indian cricket had yet to open. Dhoni was still unknown. A fifteen year old kid called Virat Kohli, living in west Delhi, was probably wondering how to balance his studies and cricket.
Today, as we look back - Anderson’s second test victim, Health Streak, who was also the captain of the Zimbabwe team back then, has passed away now, albeit prematurely of illness. The legend of Dhoni was built and passed into the hall of fame. Virat has retired from one form of the game already. Boys born when Anderson bowled his first ball in test cricket are old enough to marry now, in India.
In all this time, Anderson played under eight test skippers. His first test captain, Nasser Hussain, has been in the commentary box for so long that people don’t even recall his playing years. Another one - Alistair Cook made his debut, made an impression, became a top class champion batsman, then captain, broke all records for most test runs for England and retired. When Anderson began, Tony Blair was ensconced as UK’s prime minister. Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak have come and gone. And Starmer is now trying to make sense of the job. In the meantime, Anderson just went on, and on. His 188 tests stand a heady comparison to Sachin’s 200, but being a bowler and a pacer at that, Anderson’s physical feat may stand a shade higher.
