Anderson makes history and 'new' England emerge...
Thursday 31 December 2015 10:39, UK
James Anderson makes history, Ben Stokes scores the fastest hundred at Lord's and Jos Buttler blasts the Black Caps... we complete our 2015 review with some record-breaking moments.
PART ONE: 2015 Cricket World Cup - Read Part 1 by clicking here...
PART TWO: England's Ashes Win - Read Part 2 by clicking here...
Anderson makes history in Antigua
(West Indies v England, first Test, Antigua, 13th - 17th April)
Scorecard | Commentary | Report
History was made on April 17 in Antigua when the Burnley Express dismissed West Indies' Denesh Ramdin in his 100th Test to finally surpass Sir Ian Botham as England's record Test wicket-taker. It turned out to be the final wicket of the match, as the Windies held on for a draw in the opening Test of the series, thanks mainly to a maiden Test century from Jason Holder who finished unbeaten on 103. Anderson followed it up with six wickets in the second Test to power England to a nine-wicket victory before the tour ended in disappointment with defeat and the series was drawn. When Fred Trueman became the first Englishman to take 300 Test wickets, he said anyone who surpassed him "will be bloody tired". Beefy undoubtedly thought the same when he overtook Trueman and set a new record of 383 dismissals. It stood for 23 years and no one had come close to matching him until Anderson. Botham himself believes Anderson could yet reach 450 wickets, and his prediction is looking spot on.
Stokes hits fastest-ever century at Lord's
(England v New Zealand, first Test, Lord's, 21st - 25th May)
Scorecard | Commentary | Report
Michael Atherton summed up Ben Stokes' performance on May 24 when he said "In years to come people will say, 'were you there on the day that he scored the fastest Test hundred at Lord's?'" Stokes' scintillating 100 runs off 85 balls was the fastest ever scored at the home of cricket and turned the second Test against New Zealand in England's favour. The Durham all-rounder's sparkling innings completely overshadowed that of his captain Alastair Cook, who took the slow and steady approach to his ton. Cook was on 98 when he was joined by Stokes at the crease with England on 232-4. By the time Stokes departed for 101 Cook had added just 24 runs to his score. Their 125-run partnership saw England win the Test by 124 runs.
IPL Final - Mumbai down Chennai
(Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings, IPL Final, Kolkata, 24th May)
Scorecard | Commentary | Report
You would have got pretty long odds on Mumbai Indians even making the final of this year's IPL, let alone winning the whole competition, when they found themselves bottom of the table at the start of the tournament after four consecutive defeats. But, coached by former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, Rohit Sharma's side defied expectation to beat six-time finalists Chennai Super Kings in a contest that in the end wasn't even close. Sharma himself hit a run-a-ball half century, and 68 off 59 balls from Lendl Simmons saw Mumbai set Chennai 203 to win. The Super Kings needed to fire from the start, but Dwayne Smith laboured to 57 off 59 deliveries, and once he was gone Chennai never looked in contention, finishing on 161-8 to hand Mumbai a 41-run victory, and one of the most unlikely turnarounds in IPL history.
Record-breaking Jimmy hits 400
(England v New Zealand, second Test, Lord's, 29th May - 2nd June)
Scorecard | Commentary | Report
Six weeks to the day after replacing Botham at the top of England's all-time bowling list, Anderson was rewriting the history books once again. He struck twice in the first 10 balls on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand to move from 399 to 401 Test wickets, uncharted territory for any Englishman. The proud Lancastrian admitted he would have preferred to reach the milestone at Old Trafford rather than Headingley, but it didn't diminish his joy at joining the esteemed '400 club' that boasts the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan among its ranks. As with the previous series in the West Indies though, the personal milestone was overshadowed by the ultimate result as England lost the second Test to New Zealand to draw their second consecutive series. The uncertainty of the early summer was soon forgotten though, when England, both with and without Anderson, went on to wrestle the Ashes back from Australia in a thrilling series.
England smash 400 in ODI
(England v New Zealand, first ODI, Edgbaston, 9th June)
Scorecard | Commentary | Report
England's resurgence in the 50-over format of the game reached new levels on June 9 when Joe Root and Jos Buttler led England past 400 runs for the first time in an ODI. Root's century came in just 71 balls, while Buttler was in even more of a hurry, taking just 66 deliveries to reach his 100. England's total of 408 wasn't the only record set during a rampant performance from Eoin Morgan's side at Edgbaston. The 210-run victory over New Zealand was their biggest ever ODI win, the 14 sixes in the innings a new England record, and Buttler's partnership of 177 with Adil Rashid set a new world record for the seventh wicket in an ODI. Some turnaround from a side who were humiliatingly eliminated from the World Cup by Bangladesh just three months earlier.
