James Anderson relieved to reach 300 Test wickets at Lord's
Page 1 of 1
James Anderson relieved to reach 300 Test wickets at Lord's
James Anderson admitted he was relieved to finally reach 300 Test wickets as England fought back in the first Test with New Zealand.
Anderson had been expected to reach the milestone on the winter tour of New Zealand, but fell two wickets short.
Anderson first dismissed Hamish Rutherford (4), and the magic 300 came up when Peter Fulton nicked him to slip Graeme Swann.
He there became the fourth Englishman to achieve the feat after Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Sir Ian Botham - the latter two amongst the first to congratulate him.
And Anderson admitted he felt slightly embarrassed to have two boyhood heroes shaking his hand.
"I don't really know how I feel about that. It's quite strange, guys who have done so much in the game and achieved so much - and I watched as a kid - come up and congratulate me on that sort of thing," he said.
"I'm just delighted that I've got there, and hope there is plenty more left to come."
It was fitting too that Swann - a close friend - should be the catcher.
"It's nice to see him hold on to one," Anderson added, with a smile. "It was a really nice moment, and I could see how much it meant to him as well - how pleased he was for me."
Tight contest
Despite Anderson's three wickets, it was the Kiwis who were edging a tight contest after two days - on 153-4 in reply to 232 all out, thanks principally to Tim Southee (4-58) and Ross Taylor (66).
It is 49 years since Yorkshire legend Trueman became the first bowler in the world to reach 300, and promptly predicted anyone who repeated the feat would be "bloody tired".
Anderson though says there is more to come: "I'm feeling okay actually," he said. "I'm not getting that old yet, so I'm feeling pretty good. I think I've got a few more left yet.
"It's been difficult to avoid talk of the 300. So I'm quite happy that it's out of the way now, and I did it early and didn't have to wait around for it.
"We can move on now, and think about something else. I knew I was within touching distance in New Zealand, but obviously it didn't happen.
"You just want to get it out of the way, because you don't want to go through a couple of games not getting wickets."
Southee earlier made good use of the cloudy conditions, and Anderson said he too enjoyed bowling on a typical May day.
"The cloud cover helped - it always does," he added. "We saw the way their guys bowled, really well and made it very difficult for us with a little bit of movement - so we were very encouraged by that."
Taylor was to become victim No 301, but not before he had hit 13 fours in his 72-ball 66.
"He bowled very well and put us under pressure right from the first over," the Kiwi said of Anderson.
"He's coming at you all the time. He can swing it away and bring the ball back - and any bowler who can swing it both ways is going to be difficult and keep you on your toes.
"He probably didn't have the series he would have liked in New Zealand, but in home conditions he bowled very well. He's always asking questions."
Anderson had been expected to reach the milestone on the winter tour of New Zealand, but fell two wickets short.
Anderson first dismissed Hamish Rutherford (4), and the magic 300 came up when Peter Fulton nicked him to slip Graeme Swann.
He there became the fourth Englishman to achieve the feat after Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Sir Ian Botham - the latter two amongst the first to congratulate him.
And Anderson admitted he felt slightly embarrassed to have two boyhood heroes shaking his hand.
"I don't really know how I feel about that. It's quite strange, guys who have done so much in the game and achieved so much - and I watched as a kid - come up and congratulate me on that sort of thing," he said.
"I'm just delighted that I've got there, and hope there is plenty more left to come."
It was fitting too that Swann - a close friend - should be the catcher.
"It's nice to see him hold on to one," Anderson added, with a smile. "It was a really nice moment, and I could see how much it meant to him as well - how pleased he was for me."
Tight contest
Despite Anderson's three wickets, it was the Kiwis who were edging a tight contest after two days - on 153-4 in reply to 232 all out, thanks principally to Tim Southee (4-58) and Ross Taylor (66).
It is 49 years since Yorkshire legend Trueman became the first bowler in the world to reach 300, and promptly predicted anyone who repeated the feat would be "bloody tired".
Anderson though says there is more to come: "I'm feeling okay actually," he said. "I'm not getting that old yet, so I'm feeling pretty good. I think I've got a few more left yet.
"It's been difficult to avoid talk of the 300. So I'm quite happy that it's out of the way now, and I did it early and didn't have to wait around for it.
"We can move on now, and think about something else. I knew I was within touching distance in New Zealand, but obviously it didn't happen.
"You just want to get it out of the way, because you don't want to go through a couple of games not getting wickets."
Southee earlier made good use of the cloudy conditions, and Anderson said he too enjoyed bowling on a typical May day.
"The cloud cover helped - it always does," he added. "We saw the way their guys bowled, really well and made it very difficult for us with a little bit of movement - so we were very encouraged by that."
Taylor was to become victim No 301, but not before he had hit 13 fours in his 72-ball 66.
"He bowled very well and put us under pressure right from the first over," the Kiwi said of Anderson.
"He's coming at you all the time. He can swing it away and bring the ball back - and any bowler who can swing it both ways is going to be difficult and keep you on your toes.
"He probably didn't have the series he would have liked in New Zealand, but in home conditions he bowled very well. He's always asking questions."
Similar topics
» England bowl New Zealand out for 443 as Steve Finn takes six wickets
» New Zealand eye win after Doug Bracewell takes four wickets
» Premier League darts: Gary Anderson and Wes Newton both beaten in Brighton
» South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets to win ODI series 3-2
» West Indies v Zimbabwe: 10 wickets for Shane Shillingford in Dominica
» New Zealand eye win after Doug Bracewell takes four wickets
» Premier League darts: Gary Anderson and Wes Newton both beaten in Brighton
» South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets to win ODI series 3-2
» West Indies v Zimbabwe: 10 wickets for Shane Shillingford in Dominica
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Tue May 21, 2013 10:58 pm by Devastating
» Jim Ross Predicts The Entire WWE Extreme Rules Pay Per View Lineup
Mon May 20, 2013 5:32 pm by Marvelous Mark
» British duo Katherine Legge and Pippa Mann among the qualifiers for Indianapolis 500
Mon May 20, 2013 10:10 am by Devastating
» Serie A: AC Milan'S 2-1 win at Siena booked their place in next season's Champions League
Mon May 20, 2013 9:28 am by Devastating
» Primera Liga: Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, Deportivo and Athletic Bilbao secure wins
Mon May 20, 2013 9:25 am by Devastating
» Byron Nelson Championship: Sang-Moon Bae wraps up first PGA Tour win with 69
Mon May 20, 2013 9:04 am by Devastating
» Michael van Gerwen adds European Open to Premier League title
Mon May 20, 2013 8:57 am by Devastating
» Walter Mazzarri confirms he is leaving Napoli as Rafa Benitez linked with role
Mon May 20, 2013 8:56 am by Devastating
» Sporting Comebacks
Mon May 20, 2013 8:32 am by Zentaur