On Wednesday, English fast-bowler James Anderson mentioned that he drew inspiration from Indian cricket legend Zaheer Khan, particularly in areas such as employing reverse swing and concealing the ball during the run-up.
Anderson, who made his Test debut in 2003, entered the scene three years after Khan. Despite Khan’s retirement in 2014 with over 600 wickets across formats, Anderson continues his career at the age of 41.
Khan was really good at using an old cricket ball, and his skills influenced many young Indian cricketers to try his tricks with reverse swing and the knuckleball. Anderson discussed how Zaheer Khan’s bowling and technique have been a source of inspiration for him.
“For me, Zaheer Khan was someone I used to watch a lot to try and learn from,” Anderson told JioCinema. “How he used the reverse swing, how he covered the ball when he ran into bowl, that’s something I tried to sort of develop on the back of playing against him quite a few times here.”
Having faced off against Khan for a decade, Anderson is now in a battle with the new leader of India’s pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah. The Englishman commended the 30-year-old, praising his precision and referring to him as “world-class.”
“With someone of his quality you expect that standard from him. You know that reverse swing can play a big part in India and he’s a great exponent of it. He’s got good pace and is very accurate, very consistent,” he said.
“That yorker we saw to Ollie Pope, he’s got that up his sleeve as well. It’s not a fluke that he’s got to number one in the world. He’s a world-class bowler and from our point of view we weren’t surprised that he put up a performance like that.”
Bumrah led the wicket tally in the ongoing Test series between the two nations until the fourth Test, where he was given a break. Currently, he has taken 17 wickets from three Tests with an average of 13.65. In comparison, Anderson has secured eight wickets with an average of 34.38.
“I don’t sense that I’m 41 years and 200 days old”- James Anderson
Discussing his fitness, Anderson expressed confidence in being able to compete with the younger players on his team, noting that some of them weren’t even born when he made his Test debut.
“Yeah, I guess you do look at things like that, but to be honest, I just go with the feel of me and my body. I don’t feel like I’m 41 years and 200 days old. You know, I still feel young. I can keep up with the young guys in training.”
“I can still bowl the speeds that I want to, I can still deliver the skills that I want to. So, for me that’s the most important thing. Age is just a number and it’s pretty irrelevant from my thought process,” he said.
The fifth Test match between India and England is scheduled to commence on February 7 in Dharamshala.
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