"A nightmare to bowl against" - Corey Anderson names the toughest batter and bowler he faced in his career
Former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson recently picked the toughest bowler and batter he played against during his international career. Anderson stated that bowling to Chris Gayle was a nightmare, while facing Dale Steyn's deliveries was the toughest job for him as a batter.
Anderson represented the New Zealand team in 13 Test matches, 49 ODIs, and 31 T20Is from 2012 to 2018. He represented the Blackcaps at ICC Champions Trophy 2013, T20 World Cup 2014, ODI World Cup 2015, T20 World Cup 2016, and Champions Trophy 2017.
During his international career, Corey Anderson faced many world-class players. In an interview with Swagcricket, the former New Zealand star was asked to name the most challenging opponents that he faced as a batter and a bowler.
"Thankfully he’s retired, but Dale Steyn. He’s one of the legends of the game. Also retired, but Chris Gayle was a nightmare to bowl against. He was very intimidating, and you knew what he was trying to do but hard to execute to someone with so much power," said Anderson.
Shedding some light on Anderson's numbers against the two players, he played 16 deliveries of Dale Steyn and got out thrice. Meanwhile, he bowled only six balls to Chris Gayle, who scored six runs off those deliveries at a strike rate of 100.
"He has a great ability to get the most out of his players" - Corey Anderson names Brendon McCullum as the best captain he played under
In the same interview, Corey Anderson was asked to name the best captain he played under. During his international and IPL career, the all-rounder played under the likes of Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Aaron Finch.
He picked McCullum and gave the following explanation:
"All are obviously unbelievable players and great captains, but the one I played under the most was Brendon McCullum. He has a great ability to get the most out of his players and give them a huge amount of belief."
Corey Anderson retired from New Zealand cricket in 2020. He has settled in the United States now. Recently, he turned up for the San Francisco Unicorns in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket.