"I'm going to copy Pat Cummins' action now" - James Anderson recalls Galle Test against Sri Lanka
Veteran England seamer James Anderson has revealed that he likes Pat Cummins' action the most and described an incident when it helped get him a wicket. The 41-year-old opined that the Aussie legend's action helped him get out of his stiffness.
Cummins has established himself as one of the most consistent and best performers in red-ball cricket currently. He held the No.1 Test ranking for more than two years and has equally flourished as Test captain.
On The Tailenders' Podcast, Anderson revealed how Mark Wood told him to bowl like Cummins all the time.
"I really like Pat Cummins' action. There was a Test match in Galle in Sri Lanka where I was feeling really stiff after lunch. Mark Wood was at mid-off and I said: 'I'm going to copy Pat Cummins' action now and try to bowl like him.' I got a wicket in that over and Woody said: 'You should bowl like him all the time.'"
The Lancashire bowler observed that Cummins' snap makes him a lethal bowler to deal with.
"He's got an amazing snap. When he gets to the top of his action, everything seems to go really quick. When he bowls the ball, he just snaps through the crease. Because I was feeling stiff and a bit sluggish, I was trying to recreate that speed and it worked."
The Englishman will play his 188th and final Test during the Lord's Test against the West Indies, which begins on July 10. With 700 scalps under his belt, he needs only nine more to become the second-highest wicket-taker in the format.
"I wish I had taken a Test hat-trick" - James Anderson
With Stuart Broad possessing two Test hat-tricks, Anderson hilariously revealed that he keeps boasting of it and wanted to have at least one. The veteran also lamented getting close to a Test hundred in 2014 but missed out.
"Just for bragging rights in the pub, I wish I had taken a Test hat-trick. Stuart Broad bangs on about his two quite a lot and he'll always have that on me. I never got a Test hundred either and I was so close at Trent Bridge. I made 81 against India in 2014. I thought I was getting one there, but I didn't make it."
The 187-Test veteran prepared for his farewell Test by recently taking a six-for against Nottinghamshire.