Broad and Anderson: The Stats, The Moments and The Future

Wasim and Waqar, Ambrose and Walsh, McGrath and Warne all deservedly have a place within the annals of legendary bowling partnership history. We are fortunate enough to be living in a time to still witness the James Anderson and Stuart Broad partnership.

By taking the wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite on 28th July, Stuart Broad joined the 500 club, one of the most exclusive cricket milestones of the game. Even more rare was the fact that there was another player who had already reached that number in the same team, James Anderson. The only time this has happened previously was Glenn McGrath taking his 500th wicket at Lords with Shane Warne applauding him as he held the match ball aloft. Anderson himself is closing in on the 600 wicket mark, a feat that no fast bowler has ever achieved. These events do not happen regularly, and we are watching two icons of the game enter their twilight years whilst still at the top level.

To put the longevity and immense ability into some perspective. Here are some incredible facts about Broad and Anderson:

· Anderson’s debut in 2003 came when teammate Ollie Pope was 5

· Stuart Broad’s debut came under Michael Vaughan who retired 12 years ago

· 2006 was the last year that Anderson did not get a test 5 for

· Broad’s 8-15 at Trent Bridge were the third best figures of any bowler since 2000

· Despite having retired from ODIs in 2015, Anderson holds the most ODI wickets for England (269)

· Stuart Broad has the third most Ashes wickets for England (118) behind only Botham and Willis

Stats can tell you a lot about a player, especially in cricket, but not everything. There is no stat that shows the fear in an opening batsman’s eyes as he sees Anderson with a new Duke’s ball in his hand at Lords. There is equally no stat that can show how much confidence Broad exudes when he is on good form. The fans who have watched in awe as these two greats have shown their mastering of bowling over the last 10-15 years will more fondly remember the moments they gave us rather than the individual stats. Jimmy silencing Mitchell Johnson during the 10/11 Ashes at Perth by bowling Ryan Harris is response to the famous last words ‘Why you chirping now mate?’. Stuart hands over his mouth at Trent Bridge in 2015 as he romped his way to 8-15 by taking the wicket of Adam Voges. These are the moments that England supporters will never forget.

But what does the future hold for these two titans of the game? Anderson has been criticised this summer for not taking wickets as regularly as we had become accustomed to and Broad was infamously dropped for the first test against the West Indies. Both incidents perhaps suggesting that perhaps the time has come to begin to plan for the future. Both incidents have also shown their hunger for the game, Broad went on to become player of the series against the West Indies and Anderson replied strongly by saying he’s nowhere near done and proving it by still bowling at average speeds in the mid 80s. I believe they both have more to give but you’d be a fool to think they’ll go on forever and not to plan ahead. Anderson for example clearly needs to maintain his body so we can expect that if he is to prolong his career that he will need to sit out of the occasional test. While both will look at their next big assignment being the next Ashes down under, Ed Smith and the England hierarchy have made their feelings clear that the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will be the first names on the bowling card on the hard pacey Aussie decks. There are certainly no shortage of bowlers queueing up to appear for England too with Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone, Tom Curran and Craig Overton all pushing for spots. Ultimately it will depend on loyalty from selectors, fitness and endurance.

This article itself has been written like an obituary but this story is nowhere near its conclusion. While Broad has a couple of years on Anderson we can probably expect a couple more years out of him but with Anderson still taking wickets in England there is no-one better and no better sight than seeing a scorecard of 10. SCJ Broad (Notts) and 11. JM Anderson (Lancs).