James Anderson vs Dale Steyn (part 1)
In the last few days, there have been heated debates in the cricketing circles about who among Dale Steyn and James Anderson is the better bowler. As a keen cricket enthusiast, I thought of throwing my hat in the ring as well by dissecting both pacers.
So, let’s take a look at two bowlers who at the peak of their respective powers.
James Anderson
James Anderson
Brief overview of his career
James Anderson arrived on the scene with a bang in Australia in 02/03. In the WC in SA in ’03, he went one step further by sending shock waves through cricketing circles with a peach of a delivery to dismiss Mohd. Yousuf of Pakistan. Just when it seemed like England had found a world-class swing bowler, it all went wrong. The emergence of Flintoff, Hoggard, Jones and Harmison meant that Anderson found himself on the sidelines. To make matters worse for Anderson, England’s backroom staff constantly tinkered with his action, and that led to him losing the uncanny ability to swing it late. Ironically, it is also believed that change in his action eventually resulted in what the backroom staff didn’t want to happen, and that was the dreaded back injury.
It was only when Peter Moores took over the reins of coaching England in ’07, did Anderson finally get a good run in the side. By bowling on flat decks and away from home in countries like India and West Indies, Anderson honed his bowling skills. By 2010, Anderson was ready to take over the mantle of becoming England’s strike bowler. The bad news for batsmen all over the world is that he hasn’t looked back since. Since January 2010, he has taken 159 wickets at an average of 25.76 in 38 Tests.
Anderson with the new ball
James Anderson is a unique pacer. He isn’t one of those swing bowlers who concentrates on mainly bowling the out-swinger, and slipping the odd in-swinger to keep the batsman on tenterhooks. In fact, when bowling with good rhythm, he can bowl four-out swingers and two in-swingers in a single over.
Most cricket pundits reckon that when an out-swing bowler bowls too many in-swingers, he invariably loses his rhythm, and his main weapon, which is the out-swinger, loses its potency. But barring a few exceptions, Anderson has continued to swing it both ways at will.
His modus operandi against left-handers is slightly different from a typical swing bowler. Most bowlers who concentrate on bowling out-swingers to right-handers with a new ball in hand naturally shape it back into a left-hander. But if we observe Anderson’s bowling technique carefully, he does the exact opposite thing, as his stock delivery from over the wicket to a left-hander is the one that drifts away.
The peach of a delivery he bowled to send Imran Farhat’s stumps somersaulting at Trent Bridge was a swing bowler’s equivalent of Shane Warne’s ball of the century. From around the wicket, he swung it into the left-handed Farhat before it virtually snaked away at a high speed to take out the off-stump.
The one left-hander who has in some ways countered Anderson’s stock delivery is Graeme Smith. Smith has shown great resolve and technique to leave Anderson’s out-swinger from over the wicket with ease. This tactic by Smith has frustrated Anderson to no end. It isn’t a co-incidence that in spite of Anderson having played every Test against South Africa in the last five years, England hasn’t won a series against them. When the strike bowler is blunted to such an extent by the opening batsman, it becomes easier to win a series. Yes, Anderson has snared Smith’s wicket six times in his career, but Smith has certainly given him some headaches by notching up big hundreds.