5 biggest controversies of James Anderson's career
Legendary England fast bowler James Anderson will play his final international match during the upcoming first Test against the West Indies at Lord's from Wednesday, July 10 onwards. He leaves behind an incredible legacy that will be next-to-impossible to replicate, but more than enough to be inspired.
His ability to swing the ball, his command of home conditions, and his longevity will be some of the aspects that will be talked about long after his retirement. However, there is a trait that almost finds a place among the aforementioned ones, which is his fiery spirit and competitiveness, which has also landed him in trouble on a few occasions.
England themselves are no stranger to controversies, so perhaps it was a match made in heaven. The fiery spirit was what made Anderson so special, and a few blemishes throughout his career spanning two decades are hardly going to make any difference, barring a couple of mentions here and there over time.
On that note, let us take a look at the five biggest controversies of James Anderson's career.
#1 Off-field brawl with Ravindra Jadeja at Trent Bridge
During the first Test of Team India's tour of England in 2014, Anderson and Jadeja were involved in a major altercation during the lunch break on Day 2.
Anderson reportedly abused and pushed Jadeja, while England came to the bowler's defense by claiming that the Indian all-rounder had approached the player in a threatening manner.
The entire saga was drawn out with both teams lodging a complaint leading to a hearing. However, due to overwhelming differences in testimonies by witnesses and a lack of evidence, no punishment was doled out. However, Anderson did admit during the hearing that he had abused and threatened Jadeja.
#2 Ball-tampering allegation
Ball movement has been so sporadic these days that even a hint of it leads to the question of ball tampering, with the recent 2024 T20 World Cup being evidence. So, it is no wonder that Anderson, one of the pioneers of pace bowling, was also not spared of such allegations.
During the fourth Test of the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia, images surfaced where Anderson was apparently altering the ball's condition with his fingers. This even led to the umpires having a chat with Anderson and then-skipper Joe Root regarding the manner with which they were handling the cherry. Moreover, the early onset of reverse swing also did not help England's case.
Anderson soon debunked all of the theories and mentioned that he was looking to get some dirt off the seam.
"It escalated quite quickly, didn't it? Ridiculous but what we've come to expect, crazy really," Anderson said of the allegations.
#3 Hitting Michael Clarke with a pad
Most of Anderson's antics have come against Australia and India, which is hardly surprising, considering the rivalry that England shares with them. Although most of those incidents are sledges and isolated altercations spurred on by the heat of the moment, there is one incident that stands out.
During the 2006-07 Ashes, James Anderson and Michael Clarke had a squabble that was mentioned in detail in the former's autobiography, Jimmy: My Story.
He mentioned that Clarke, who was relatively a newcomer at that point, had an attitude that irked him. Discussing the newbie with Australian veteran Damien Martyn over a couple of drinks, Anderson expressed his desire to whack Clarke with his pads.
Encouraged by the Aussie, Anderson proceeded to execute his words into action.
"As I’d had a couple of beers, I didn’t need a second invitation, so I picked this pad up and cuffed Clarke with it, making the biggest thud imaginable in the process, and causing everyone in the room to stop nattering. For a split second, there was complete silence. Clarke wasn’t best pleased. “‘What the f*** ya doing?’ he snarled,” Anderson wrote in his book.
The pair were involved in another altercation during the Gabba Test in 2013-14 when Clarke told Anderson to be ready for a 'broken f***ing arm' at the hands of the Aussie pacers.
#4 Controversial tweet on Stuart Broad
Ollie Robinson's international career arguably derailed in its early course when questionable old tweets on his account resurfaced. While it is hard to erase one's past, Anderson tried his best to hide his.
In the aftermath of the emergence of Robinson's racist and sexist tweets, an old tweet of Anderson also flared up. Several English cricketers were carrying out a thorough sweep of their social media accounts and deleting content that could cause a stir.
Anderson did the same, but he was a bit late in doing so as screenshots of one of his old tweets made the rounds. To make matters worse, it was about his long-time bowling partner, Stuart Broad.
"I saw Broady’s new haircut for the first time today. Not sure about it. Thought he looked like a 15 yr old lesbian!" Anderson's tweet from 2010 read.
Although not addressing the aforementioned tweet directly, Anderson spoke about his conduct on social media platforms in the past.
"For me, it’s 10-11 years ago, I’ve certainly changed as a person. I think that’s the difficulty, things do change, you do make mistakes. It’s something that we’re definitely going to have to look at,” Anderson told reporters.
“If there are any tweets from years ago we do have to look at that and again learn from this and be better in the future, try and make sure we know it’s unacceptable to use these sorts of phrases and language," he added.
#5 Sledging incident with Jasprit Bumrah
When two pace bowlers tussle, it is never a pretty sight from the Gentleman's game perspective, even if one of them is a cool head like Jasprit Bumrah.
During the famous Lord's Test between India and England in 2021, Bumrah delivered a barrage of bouncers to Anderson, which the latter did not appreciate even though the bowler checked up on him. The incident apparently triggered the visitors who went on to clinch an improbable win on the final day.
Anderson was also involved in another controversial sledging incident during his last tour of India. The veteran questioned Shubman Gill's credentials outside home, while the youngster responded by telling Anderson to just retire from the game.