James Anderson: Sky Cricket pundits praise England seamer after his 600th Test wicket
Nasser Hussain: "What you don't know when you hand someone their first cap is what else do they have and can they give? That stomach for the fight, that stuff about wanting to carry on and do it day in day out.
Wednesday 26 August 2020 10:09, UK
James Anderson became the first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets on the fifth day of the third #raisethebat Test against Pakistan at The Ageas Bowl.
The 38-year-old reached the milestone by having Pakistan captain Azhar Ali caught at first slip by England skipper Joe Root as the final Test of the summer ended in a draw.
Anderson, who made his Test debut in 2003 under the captaincy of Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain, joins spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble in fourth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.
The tributes from within the game have poured in following his landmark achievement on Tuesday - here is what our pundits had to say…
Nasser Hussain
"Today was worth it just for that moment. He would have got there eventually, whether it be Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka, South Africa. He is too good to go too long without one wicket.
"But I think it was nice for him just not to have it hanging over him and nice for everything that has gone on this summer, all the efforts that have been put in. All the efforts by the players just to have one final moment which was special. It was special to the country sitting at home watching but also special to James Anderson.
"An outstanding achievement - for a fast bowler to play 156 Test matches, for a fast bowler to get 600 Test wickets, for a fast bowler to get out of bed every single morning for 17 years, stiff as a board, strap those boots on and say 'I am going to go again'. Unbelievable achievement, James Anderson."
"When I handed him that cap I knew he was an incredibly skilful bowler. I had never seen an English bowler like him before. Just from the way he went from inswing to outswing with no discernible change in the action.
"He came in from Burnley and the Lancashire second team and a bit of first-team cricket and it was wow! Then he played that game in the World Cup at Cape Town and you just saw something in front of your eyes [that was] incredibly special.
"So you know that he has those gifts, what you don't know when you hand someone their first cap is what else do they have and can they give? That stomach for the fight, that stuff about wanting to carry on and do it day in day out. That wanting to learn and to improve every single time.
"The comeback from setbacks, for some people a setback is too much for them. For Jimmy, when he was told to change his action because it would cause injury, and by changing his action it caused injury, but yet he came back. He kept believing and now he is the best of them all. So, you hand the cap out and you know he is going to be good [but] you never knew that he was going to be that good."
Andrew Strauss
"A special moment for him. In truth, this is 600 priceless rewards for 17 years of hard graft and toil for Anderson.
"He has been an extraordinary servant of the game in this country, so for him to get this reward and get a step further up that list of all-time great bowlers, it's a great achievement and it was a great pleasure to be here to witness it first-hand.
"I think what we saw over the course of his career was a young guy who had prodigious talent but didn't quite know how good he was and he had to learn the game - very much learning it in that England team environment. Once he got that confidence and realised how good his skills were, he just got better and better.
"I was very fortunate to have him in my team as England captain, increasingly he became the go-to man if I needed something to happen, and over the course of the last seven or eight years, he's just got better and better.
"And the great thing is just his longevity, 156 Test matches, is extraordinary for any player, let alone a fast bowler.
"Jimmy is a modest guy; he's not going to be shouting it from the rooftops, but when he sits down this evening - finally out of the bubble - he'll be savouring what he's achieved in an England shirt and, knowing him as I do, he won't be satisfied yet - he'll still think there are plenty of wickets out there for him.
"He's sort of at the age now where people are starting to say, 'this must be near the end', but if you look at his record in recent years it just keeps getting better and better.
"We should be wary of saying he's approaching the end; he still looks fit and healthy, he's still working hard on his game, he's still got that motivation and desire to keep playing. As long as he's got that then, certainly at home, he should be the first name on the team sheet.
"I still think he's got two or three years left in him.
"There was a marked change; think back to his early days with the England cricket team, we had Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard - almost the senior partners in the team - and I think once the three of them were gone, Anderson looked round the dressing room and went 'I need to be the senior partner'.
"From that moment on, A) his bowling got better, but B) he engaged much more in the dressing room. He was much more interested about the tactical conversations about the opposition batsmen, he would have more conversations with the other bowlers in the team and, obviously, with Stuart Broad he struck up an incredible partnership that has endured for a long period of time.
"At times he was grumpy, at times it was quite hard to get him to smile and at times you didn't want him to be castigating the fielders as much as he did but that was all part of his incredible competitive spirit, his desperation to win and to be as good a bowler as he can possibly be."
Shane Warne
"It is a terrific effort and something that he should be extremely proud of. The numbers, yes, are pretty amazing. To play 156 Test matches for a fast bowler [over] 17 years is unbelievable. It takes a lot of sacrifices.
"Playing top-level international sport is something that you should be extremely grateful for that opportunity, but along that journey comes a lot of sacrifices. Time away from your children, your loved ones, your partner, family, friends, all those things.
"There are times when you are coming back from injury or you have got a little niggle. Times when you have to get up early in the morning by yourself, no one around you, and find motivation and inspiration from within.
"I am sure his parents, who used to drive him around when he was nine or 10 years old, are sitting back tonight and raising a glass and saying 'it was worth it, all those miles up and down the country'.
"There are so many people to thank along your journey, but I think Jimmy will sit there with him team-mates, the guys that have been there with him all the time. The England team are like his family, when he is on the road. When he gets home tonight, all those hard yards that he has done, all the tough times when he is out there and people are writing him off, [will make the effort worth it].
"It is a shame there has not been 25-30,000 people here to share that moment with him and to feel that adrenaline, satisfaction and warmth that you get from all the fans. I think we should all raise a glass to Jimmy."
