James Anderson vs Glenn McGrath - Similarities and differences

[Daemon]

Glenn McGrath, Dale Steyn better bowlers than me - James Anderson - ESPNcricinfo

Nice article which gives some insight into his methods

"I heard him say once that he practised for when the ball didn't swing," Anderson said. "So if it did swing, it was a bonus. That philosophy has been a big part of my development. You so often see bowlers pick out a lovely new ball from the bag at nets and it looks great when it swings in the air and nips off the seam with batsmen playing and missing. What about when the ball is 60 overs old, the sun is blazing down, the pitch is flat and there's not a hint of movement? So, at practice, I often take an old ball that looks like it's been chewed by a dog and work on variations and aiming for the top of off stump. That's the quickest way to improve your skills."

 

[Furball]

The only thing they have which is similar is they both played a ridiculous amount of games for a fast bowler and both took an enormous amount of wickets. The similarities end there. McGrath was probably the greatest line and length bowler in the history of the game who exploited any weakness in technique and gave numerous batsmen worldwide nightmares. Jimmy is one of the best exponents of swing that there has ever been, what a great combination they would have been had they opened an attack together when at their peaks.

Late career Anderson is every bit the line and length merchant that McGrath was.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Anderson developed the wobble seam delivery for those exact moments when it doesn't swing. He nicked it from Mohammad Asif ahead of the 2010-11 Ashes.

 

[trundler]

Think the Hadlee comparison is pretty perfect.

Hadlee didn't play that much in his tear away phase so he got his stats to accurately reflect his greatness.

Anderson, on the other hand, played a lot. He debuted pretty young too. Explains why he didn't have the best initiation to test cricket. Awesome after that though.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I just think Jimmy is brilliant. His stats are a major inconvenience for Australians and other detractors. He is meek as a lamb off the field yet turns into an expert sledger on it. He is also a first-rate northerner. Ohh Jimmy Jimmy. Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Anderson.

 

[Starfighter]

How are 34.56 and 35.63 inconvenient numbers?

 

[S.Kennedy]

How are 34.56 and 35.63 inconvenient numbers?

Just beat Mac-graph statistically and you lot are seething haha.

 

[Starfighter]

Beat McGrath statistically? Jeez, you're saying he's better than Marshall too? Being a quality over quantity person, I'd rather compare their averages.

 

[Starfighter]

I'm pleased to see that in cricket we have both AlecStewartThoughts and now LangerMaths.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Beat McGrath statistically? Jeez, you're saying he's better than Marshall too? Being a quality over quantity person, I'd rather compare their averages.

More wickets?

 

[jimmy101]

Anderson = ATG pace bowler.

Stats say so.

/thread

 

[S.Kennedy]

When Jimmy beats Warne I suspect the Aussies will still be saying that ''he needs a few clouds''.

 

[Daemon]

Was Anderson ever the best bowler in the world during his career? Post Steyn it seems like Rabada has picked up that title. Maybe in between Steyn and Rabada.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Was Anderson ever the best bowler in the world during his career? Post Steyn it seems like Rabada has picked up that title. Maybe in between Steyn and Rabada.

Best bowler that annoys Australians, so he is my pick.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I'd like to say Anderson is an ATG but then it creates the issue of how to class the multiple fast bowlers who are clearly superior

 

[Starfighter]

More wickets?

Way to miss the point...

 

[S.Kennedy]

Way to miss the point...

Clouds?

 

[Starfighter]

Clouds?

Only in your mind.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Only in your mind.

I'm a Durham supporter and even I have partook of the Jimmy Anderson Song, so surely there is some hope for an Australian?

 

[jimmy101]

I'd like to say Anderson is an ATG but then it creates the issue of how to class the multiple fast bowlers who are clearly superior

There was actually this blogger named Dearman who came up with some extensive all-time XI threads for football/soccer teams a few years ago on xtratime.org.

He had a pretty good system imo that involved separate classes. King (gold, silver, bronze), Queen (gold, silver, bronze) and Prince (gold, silver, bronze). Effectively giving us 9 separate categories.

Here is a link to one of his threads: https://www.xtratime.org/forum/348-history-football/247919-all-time-england-squad.html