Anatomy of perfection: How James Anderson bowled one of England’s greatest ever overs

With India 92-2 in the 27th over of their second innings in Chennai, and seemingly well-set, Joe Root handed the ball to Jimmy Anderson. What followed was one of England’s greatest ever overs: a microcosm of the qualities that have made Anderson England’s highest ever Test wicket-taker. 

Ball 1

Batsman: Shubman Gill

Type: Inswinger, good length

Outcome: Dot ball  

When England needed a wicket in Chennai five years ago, they couldn’t toss the ball to Anderson. It wasn’t that Anderson wasn’t fit. And in the modern parlance, of course, he wasn’t dropped. But after going wicketless in the previous two Tests in India, Anderson was fit for selection yet not picked. 

It seemed reasonable enough to think that this was a harbinger of what was to come. Anderson was 34, already well past the age when fast bowlers traditionally decline. And while his potency in England was undiluted, being omitted in Chennai seemed to hint at the future of late-career Anderson: as a home specialist, only wheeled out occasionally in the most favourable conditions abroad.

Since being unwanted in Chennai in 2016, Anderson has taken another 144 Test wickets at a smidgeon under 20; overseas, that average rises only fractionally, to 23. No wonder that Root has no qualms about turning to him when England need a wicket with the old ball. His first delivery to Shubman Gill is full and locates the coveted reverse swing; it is pushed to short midwicket.  

Anderson celebrates the dismissal of Shubman Gill, after sneaking a reverse swing delivery through the gate between bat and pad Credit: Pankaj Nangia /Pankaj Nangia  Ball 2

Batsman: Shubman Gill

Type: Inswinger, good length

Outcome: Wicket (bowled)

Even as he has waltzed past 600 Test wickets, the tedious refrain that Anderson is a bowler dependent on assistance from above – the clouds – and below – a green pitch – has lingered in some minds.

At the start of his career, this notion wasn’t without merit. From his Test debut in 2003 until the end of 2009, Anderson averaged 30.3 in England but 45.6 overseas, where he leaked 3.5 an over. But he has taken 183 wickets outside England at just 27.5 apiece ever since, including decisive roles in England’s two seminal series victories in the 2010s – the 2010/11 Ashes victory, when he snared 24 wickets; and the heist in India in 2012, when MS Dhoni proclaimed Anderson, with his accuracy, reverse swing and subtle variations, “the difference between the bowling sides.”

In Chennai today, there is not a cloud in the sky. The orange surface resembles Roland Garros more than the green-tinged Trent Bridge, the ground where Anderson is most lethal. 

Yet Anderson is not dependent on English climes to locate any scintilla of weakness in an opponent. He pitches this ball even fuller, helping it reverse swing even more. With a surgeon’s precision, the ball sneaks through the gap Gill has left between his pad and inside edge, and uproots his off stump. 

Ball 3

Batsman: Ajinkya Rahane

Type: Inswinger, good length

Outcome: Dot ball

Even during Anderson’s uncertain start to his Test career, his penchant for bowling unplayable deliveries was never in doubt. The snag was what happened in between, when Anderson was liable to overpitch and lose control of his line. In his third Test in Asia, away to Sri Lanka in 2007, Anderson was thrashed for six fours in a single over by Sanath Jayasuriya. 

One measure of Anderson’s evolution and adaptability is he is considerably more economical in Asia than England, recognising how he does not need to search for magic deliveries to bring wickets. His first delivery to Ajinkya Rahane is full again, testing the new batsman’s resolve outside off stump. This time, it is safely left alone. 

Ball 4

Batsman: Ajinkya Rahane

Type: Inswinger, good length

Outcome: Lbw appeal turned down – umpire’s call on review

Anderson’s command of the reverse swing is beguiling. Using the width of the crease to generate the most hazardous angle for the batsman, Anderson’s hooping inswinger beats Rahane’s bat and crashes into his pad. Only the umpire’s sympathy spares Rahane; when England review the not-out lbw decision, the delivery is found to be umpire’s call on impact. 

Only an infinitesimal margin has deprived Anderson of a second wicket. But, having located reverse swing, he has no need to deviate from his template. In this mood, he later says, “you feel like you can take a wicket with every ball.”

Anderson and England appeal for LBW against Ajinkya Rahane, who survives a review on umpire’s call Credit: BCCI BCCI /Focus Images Limited  Ball 5

Batsman: Ajinkya Rahane

Type: Inswinger, good length

Outcome: Wicket (bowled)

From the wobble seam to a smorgasbord of cutters, Anderson has mastered an array of variations to help him succeed the world over, on the flattest wickets and on the hottest days. But now is not the time for those. Rahane, a Test batsman with 12 centuries, and everyone else are in no doubt what will come next: another full, reverse swinging delivery.

Knowing what a bowler wants to do is one thing; stopping them is quite another. Anderson goes wide of the crease again, and curves the ball past Rahane’s bat once again. This time, his pad doesn’t get in the way and, with the off stump toppled, there is no need to inconvenience the umpire. In four balls, the fate of the match has been completely transformed. 

His captain later compares the over to Andrew Flintoff’s to Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting at Edgbaston in 2005. There is no hint of hyperbole in Root’s words nor in his proclamation that Anderson is still improving. So far in 2021, 5,000 miles away from home, Anderson has 11 wickets at 9.9 apiece, taking a wicket every 32 balls, while conceding just 1.85 an over.

Jimmy Anderson wheels away in celebration after obliterating Ajinkya Rahane’s off-stump during his superlative double-wicket maiden over Credit: Pankaj Nangia /Pankaj Nangia  Ball 6

Batsman: Rishabh Pant

Type: Straight ball, good length

Outcome: Dot ball

With left-hander Rishabh Pant at the crease, Anderson now changes his angle of attack, going around the wicket. His assurance bowling around the wicket to left-handers is one small emblem of Anderson’s commitment to what the Japanese call kaizen: continuous improvement, seeing skill as not a static quality but something that can always be developed. Before turning 30, Anderson only went around the wicket to left-handers 20 per cent of the time; ever since, he’s gone around the wicket to them 39 percent. The impact is reliably devastating: Anderson averages 17.7 around the wicket to left-handers in the last five years. 

This delivery is full again, angled into Pant, who pushes it to mid-on. Ostensibly, it seems relatively unthreatening as the ball scarcely moves in the air. Yet, unbeknown to Pant, the ball has helped pave the way for his own demise. Three overs later, using the same angle of attack, Pant plays for the ball coming into him again. This time, Anderson locates reverse swing away from him; Pant’s leading edge falls safely in Root’s hands at short cover, and England’s greatest ever Test wicket-taker has his 611th victim. How many more can he get? Like Tom Brady, Anderson long ago rendered precedents moot. All we can be sure of is this: at the age of 38, in the continent that is the overseas fast bowler’s graveyard, Anderson is still adding to his legend.