masterawais
Cricket Spectator
564 wickets. Let the enormity of that sink in. 2932 players have taken field in Test cricket, out of which 2165 players rolled their arms over (or under) once. Only four of those have reached the 564-wicket milestone, and none of the three who reached there before James Michael Anderson were fast bowlers. The Burnley Express castled Mohammed Shami in India's second innings to become the leading pace bowler in the 141-year-old history of Test cricket, going past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets.
Anderson and McGrath have been as different as chalk and cheese in their modus operandi but yet one can spot a few inevitable similarities between the two. McGrath, tall and lanky, consistently hit the ball on the good length and extracted movement off the seam for his wickets. MyCricketHighlights Being 6'5" tall, he could get that ball to bounce steep off a good length. Anderson, on the other hand, started off predominantly as a swing bowler who often relied on the conditions favoring the ball to move in the air. But as he played more, he added various tricks to his repertoire and at the sunset of his career, he is regarded as one of the most complete bowlers ever to grace the game.
Anderson vs McGrath - Test career
Player Tests Wkts Avg SR 5-fers BBI BBM
James Anderson 143 564 26.84 55.8 26 7/43 11/71
Glenn McGrath 124 563 21.64 51.9 29 8/24 10/27
McGrath made his debut in the home summer of 1993/94 and had an indifferent start to his career before he travelled to the Caribbean in 1995. As fate would have it, Australia's spearhead Craig McDermott got injured before the series and McGrath was entrusted to lead the pace battery. He led the attack from the front, taking 24 first-class wickets during the entire tour, 17 of which came in the four Tests. The baton of Australia pace bowling that was passed on from Ray Lindwall to Graham McKenzie to Dennis Lillee to McDermott, was handed over to McGrath, who would then carry it for the next dozen years with distinction.
Anderson hit the road running with a five-fer on debut at Lord's but found himself in and out of the side for the better part of next five years as the likes of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones were preferred over him. His big break came in the summer of 2008 when he picked seven for 43 against New Zealand in the series decider at Trent Bridge. He finished as the highest wicket taker in the second leg of that home summer in the series against South Africa and there was no looking back from then on. 114 Tests and 10 summers later, Anderson still runs in hard as ever and leads the attack from the front as the captain's go-to bowler in crunch situations. Report by Cricket Highlights
Anderson and McGrath have been as different as chalk and cheese in their modus operandi but yet one can spot a few inevitable similarities between the two. McGrath, tall and lanky, consistently hit the ball on the good length and extracted movement off the seam for his wickets. MyCricketHighlights Being 6'5" tall, he could get that ball to bounce steep off a good length. Anderson, on the other hand, started off predominantly as a swing bowler who often relied on the conditions favoring the ball to move in the air. But as he played more, he added various tricks to his repertoire and at the sunset of his career, he is regarded as one of the most complete bowlers ever to grace the game.
Anderson vs McGrath - Test career
Player Tests Wkts Avg SR 5-fers BBI BBM
James Anderson 143 564 26.84 55.8 26 7/43 11/71
Glenn McGrath 124 563 21.64 51.9 29 8/24 10/27
McGrath made his debut in the home summer of 1993/94 and had an indifferent start to his career before he travelled to the Caribbean in 1995. As fate would have it, Australia's spearhead Craig McDermott got injured before the series and McGrath was entrusted to lead the pace battery. He led the attack from the front, taking 24 first-class wickets during the entire tour, 17 of which came in the four Tests. The baton of Australia pace bowling that was passed on from Ray Lindwall to Graham McKenzie to Dennis Lillee to McDermott, was handed over to McGrath, who would then carry it for the next dozen years with distinction.
Anderson hit the road running with a five-fer on debut at Lord's but found himself in and out of the side for the better part of next five years as the likes of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones were preferred over him. His big break came in the summer of 2008 when he picked seven for 43 against New Zealand in the series decider at Trent Bridge. He finished as the highest wicket taker in the second leg of that home summer in the series against South Africa and there was no looking back from then on. 114 Tests and 10 summers later, Anderson still runs in hard as ever and leads the attack from the front as the captain's go-to bowler in crunch situations. Report by Cricket Highlights
