"Going Against The Grain...": How England Test Legend James Anderson Is Turning Into A T20 Specialist At 42

NDTV

6 hours ago

Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings hailed England pace legend James Anderson for adapting to the pace of T20 cricket really well on his return to the format after 11 years during the ongoing T20 Blast competition. Anderson continued his fine run in the T20 Blast, picking up 3/31 in four overs at an economy of 7.75 against Northamptonshire on Sunday. Anderson, who retired from Tests last year and had been a Test specialist for around a decade, picked up the scalps of Ricardo Vasconcelos (32), South Africa international Matthew Breetzke (9) and ex-England batter Ravi Bopara (28) as Northamptonshire put 180/6 in their 20 overs, with Liam Livingstone also picking up two scalps.
Anderson, 42, has taken seven wickets so far in the T20 Blast at an average of 10.14 and an economy rate of just 6/45. His best figures are 3/17, which also happen to be his best T20 figures.
While Lancashire lost by 24 runs, restricted to 156/9 in 20 overs despite scores from Michael Jones (32) and Ashton Turner (23), due to some fine bowling from George Scrimshaw (4/19 in four overs), Jennings was full of praise for the ageless English pace wonder, as quoted by Wisden
"What he (Anderson) is doing, he is ridiculous. He's bowling three overs in the power play, and that kind of goes against the grain. Most guys have a maximum of two generally. You do not want somebody to line you up. He is reading batters," Jennings said after the loss.
"He (Anderson) has somehow moved with the times of T20 cricket without playing a game. I suppose that shows the level of care he's taken in his own cricket, in his own preparation."
"Going nice and quick, controlling areas, watching batters, following them, going wider when it is needed. The clarity of thought, when he does sort of mis-execute, has not - unsurprisingly - rattled him. He is straight back to what he needs to execute in the next ball," Jennings continued.
On a concluding note, Jennings said it is silly "not to pick his brain and pick his wealth of expertise" and that Anderson's presence benefits the dressing room.
"As captain, you fight yourself a little bit. But also, I think you have got to watch the sort of flow of the game. And if he looks hard to hit, you keep him on. Jimmy has executed brilliantly well. Hopefully it long continues," he concluded.