It's quite extraordinary in these days of endless (if short) Test series that it's taken almost thirty years for a fourth Englishmen to reach 300 wickets in the top form of cricket. Since Fred Trueman in the mid-'60s and Bob Willis and Ian Botham in the '80s, no homegrown bowler has maintained form and fitness long enough to get anywhere near this milestone. In the same period, we were entertained by the prolific spin trio Warne, Muralitharan and Kumble, plus the fab fast men Ambrose, Walsh and McGrath, who all sailed past 400 and, in Murali's case the stratospheric figure of 800!
Even now, only three other men still playing have broken the triple-century barrier and two - Harbajhan SIngh and Daniel Vettori - may never get the opportunity to add to their respective tallies of 413 and 360. The other is Dale Steyn, whose 332 victim have come at an average of just 22.65, extraordinarily low in this batting-friendly era. The South African and James Anderson are surely the most consistent exponents of seam and swing in the world at the moment and, both aged around 30, could keep going for another four to five years.
The fact that Steyn has played only 65 Tests to Anderson's 81 owes much to South Africa's less rigorous schedule than England's. However, the Burnley man's international looked to have stalled between 2004 and 2006 when first he lost the knack then suffered a stress fracture. He thus missed out on a role in England's once-fearsome pace attack which did for the Aussies in 2005. That bowling line-up had all but vanished from the scene in 2007, and fortunately Anderson rediscovered the art of great bowling to reclaim his place in the Test and ODI line-up which led to both England's and his own surge up the rankings.
It is almost ten years to the day since the 20 year-old 'Jimmy' Anderson made his Test debut with a five-for, albeit against Zimbabwe. He had been getting rave reviews for Lancashire the previous summer, and won a place in England's one-day squad. Promotion to the Test XI was almost inevitable, and his Zimbabwe warm-up was followed by a full series at home to South Africa. However, apart from three out of the four West Indies games in the summer of 2004, he became a peripheral figure for a few years, participating in only the odd Test here or there. He therefore missed Steyn's debut in Potr Elizabeth in December 2004, when Harmison, Hoggard, Jones and Flintoff were flexing their combined muscles on the world stage.
It was in 2008, coincidentally against New Zealand, that James Anderson really announced he was back with a vengeance. He took 5-73 in Wellington but his devastating 7-43 at Trent Bridge later that year gave him what remains his career best innings figures. Two years later, he demolished Pakistan, in Nottingham again, then enhjoyed a superlative tour of Australia. Alastair Cook won most of the plaudits but it was Anderson's bowling which arguably played a greater role in the Ashes triumph. Since then he has done little wrong, finding the consistence that has eluded so many other England fast bowlers. Like Steyn he has a wonderful rhythm to his run-up and delivery, so crucial in avoiding serious injury and also in deceiving batsmen into misreading the swing he produces so effectively. Not only that but he is also an excellent fielder in the slips or the outfield.
Perhaps surprisingly given his frequent supporting roles to late-order partnerships, his highest Test innings is a paltry 34. Indeed, he hasn't a single half-cebntury to his name in senior cricket. Never mind. His swing bowling at pace has yielded 900 wickets and almost 140 catches in all formats and he has cemented a place in the ICC top ten for Tests in the last three or four years, reaching number two when England were at their peak. So his average of 30-odd is nothing to write home about, but batsmen fear him, and that's what counts in international cricket. Botham's Test tally of 383 must surely be at risk in the next two or three years, and Clarke and co need to be at their best ove rthe next twelve months to halt his march into England's record books.
