Bend it like Beckham or Swing it like James Anderson

Bend it like Beckham or Swing it like James Anderson: David Beckham was arguably the best free kick taker of his generation. Beckham’s name is a part of English football’s illustrious history. The bend his free kicks and crosses took always had the killer instinct. He played his best club Football with Manchester United and Real Madrid where he created a huge impact.

On the other hand, another Englishman from a different sport is famous for swinging the ball at will. James Anderson, the man who’s swinging abilities on a cricketing field is usually making the headlines. Cricket and Football, two different ball games altogether, but Beckham’s bend on the football and Anderson’s swing with the red cherry are two fascinating sights.

After the retirement of Pakistan’s bowling sensation Wasim Akram, James Anderson is the best swing bowler in the world. Breaking the record of Sultan of Swing, Anderson has 426 Test wickets on his name. Anderson knows the art of doing justice to his abilities, the composure and temperament allows the 33-year-old to dig deep and fight hard for success. With 266 home and 160 away wickets, Anderson is England’s all-time leading wicket-taker.

People may think of Anderson as a home track bully or a player who needs a lot of help from the conditions, but, that isn’t always the case. A total of 55 wickets in 17 Tests on Asian soil, Anderson is always a destructive weapon for his captain. England’s recent failure against Pakistan had few glimpses of positivity and James Anderson was one of them. Despite the slow and sluggish nature of the pitch, he was the most threatening among English bowlers who managed a total of 13 wickets in the series.

Also read: Watch: James Anderson bowls the banana in-swinger to Kraigg Brathwaite the best ball of 2015

The consistency of Anderson’s performance is his captain’s delight. For his fruitful displays with the ball, Anderson is placed second along with Yasir Shah in bowlers ranking for Test matches. He is a true team player and has a lot left in the tank to deliver. At this point of time, Jimmy is only playing the Test format. The success in the Ashes series was indeed set up by some lethal bowling by the seamer. He is rewriting the English Cricket history and can play at the top level for many more years if injuries frequently don’t cross his way. Anderson carries a fit body that will hopefully allow him to prolong his career and by the time he calls it a day we will definitely be looking at a fast bowling and especially a swing bowling legend.

Written by Asif Mithani