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‘Old defender’ Anderson stays two steps ahead
- Updated: August 1, 2016
James Anderson hopes his vast experience can help him compensate for a drop in pace over the remaining years of his career.
Anderson, who turned 34 over the weekend, returned to the Test team at Old Trafford with a performance that showed his control and skills remain undimmed by age or injury. But it was noticeable that his average bowling speed in the game – about 81mph – was some way down on his peak.
While Anderson hopes he was simply “rusty” and that he will be able to generate more pace at Edgbaston, he accepts that he may be at the stage of his career where he has to rely more upon other attributes if he is to continue to flourish.
“I didn’t feel like my speeds in Manchester were where they could be,” Anderson said. “I felt a bit like Matthew Hoggard at the end of his career when he slowed down a bit but his control was pretty good.
“With the skills I have, I can do a job even if my speeds did drop. With experience you can stay one step ahead in your head. It is like an old defender in football who might not have the pace of a quick striker but he’s two steps ahead of him upstairs.”
Anderson has been sidelined by several injuries over the last year or so. After sustaining a side strain during the Edgbaston Ashes Test 12 months ago, he missed the first Test of the series in South Africa due to a calf injury and then the Lord’s Test against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury.
But, after a modest tour of South Africa, he was back to something approaching his best at the start of this English summer. He claimed 21 wickets in the three Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of just 10.80 apiece – albeit in helpful conditions at times – and remains the No. 2-rated bowler in the ICC’s rankings for Test cricket. He is just one ranking point behind India’s R Ashwin.
He denies that the relative glut of injuries are necessarily a reflection of ageing and suggests that he could emulate Glenn McGrath and play until he is 37 years old.
“The way I feel at the moment, mentally, I’ve still got a …
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