James Anderson played his first Test match on May 22nd, 2003 at Lord’s and his last on July 12th, 2024 at the same ground, a career spanning 21 years and 51 days. He thus became the first genuine fast bowler to play Test cricket for such a long time. Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan comes closest to Anderson among fast bowlers in a Test career that comprised 88 matches spread over 20 years and 218 days.
Having played in 188 Tests, Anderson stands second, next only to Sachin Tendulkar who featured in 200 matches. Steve Waugh of Australia comes third having played 168 Tests.
Anderson became England’s 613th Test player when he made his debut in 2003. When he played his last Test in 2024, Gus Atkinson made his debut as England’s 714th Test player. Thus, as many as 101 players made it to the England team during this period, which is a Test record. Behind Anderson in this list is Tendulkar, during whose 200 Tests career spanning 24 years, 93 players made it to the India team.
Anderson took 704 wickets in Tests, the highest for a fast bowler and the third highest wicket-taker overall. The top two bowlers – Muthiah Muralitharan with 800 wickets and Shane Warne with 708 – were spinners. This record is bound to stay with him for several years more, as the next two fast bowlers who are still active in Test cricket – Tim Southee and Mitchel Starc – are way behind with 382 and 358 wickets respectively.
Anderson bowled 40,037 balls in his Test career, the only fast bowler to do so. The three players who have bowled a greater number of balls – Muralitharan at 44,039; Anil Kumble at 40,850; and Warne at 40,705 – were spinners. He has taken 5 wickets and more in an innings 32 times and on 3 occasions, 10 wickets and more in a Test match, again a Test record among fast bowlers.
Anderson played 39 Tests each against India and Australia, capturing 149 and 117 wickets respectively. Not surprisingly, there are three Indians among the top five batsmen that he has dismissed the greatest number of times. His ‘bunny’ apparently is Cheteshwar Pujara who gave away his wicket 12 times. Peter Siddle has fallen to Anderson 11 times, David Warner 10 times, Tendulkar nine times and Virat Kohli on seven occasions. Barring Siddle, the rest are among the best batsmen in the world.
Among bowlers who hunted in pairs, Anderson and Stuart Broad hold the record for capturing 1039 wickets together over 138 Tests. Next in line are Warne and Glen McGrath who played 104 Tests together and captured 1001 wickets between them. That he remained not out 102 times is another Test record. Courtney Walsh and Muralidharan come next with 61 and 56 not outs. One must remember, though, that all three came in to bat at Number 11 most of the time.
The James Anderson Stand at Lord’s is a befitting recognition of the stupendous contribution of this wonderful cricketer. He is the only fast bowler in the modern era to play till he turned 42, a strong testimony to his endurance, skill, fitness and high standards.
In today’s highly competitive world, PR professionals should also inculcate all the attributes of James Anderson to take their career to great heights. The run-of-the-mill person will remain static after some time leading to frustration and disappointment. Technology is already driving the various functions of PR, particularly content, design and measurement of outcomes. The impact of digital communication will only increase with time. PR professionals must consistently embrace change and upgrade their skillsets accordingly. If they have to succeed like James Anderson did on the cricket field, they have to display very high levels of determination, perseverance, focus, discipline and dedication.
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A seasoned corporate communications professional with over 40 years of experience in the field, Narahari guides internal teams at The PRactice on media engagement and outreach strategies. During the course of a noteworthy career, he has led several global initiatives at organisations such as HMT, Wipro, IBM, Dell and Texas Instruments.
The Public Relations Council of India recognised his contribution to the profession by inducting him into its ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2011. He was also conferred the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at PRAXIS in 2017. He is a former Chairman of the Marketing & Communications Forum of NASSCOM in Karnataka and teaches a Corporate Communications course as a visiting faculty member at a college in Bangalore.
Narahari is an avid traveller and a keen singer of retro Hindi film songs. He also follows cricket closely.
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