Glenn McGrath was a much better bowler than me: James Anderson

James Anderson had a stupendous outing in England’s Test series against India in which he ended as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets from five contests. His best bowling figures of 20/5 came in the first innings of the second encounter at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Recently, he toppled legendary Glenn McGrath to become the fast bowler with the most number of wickets (564).

He accomplished the feat when he castled Mohammed Shami to pick up the last wicket of the fifth Test at Kennington Oval in London. After the accomplishment, McGrath took to the social media platform and congratulated the Lancashire-born speedster. Meanwhile, Anderson was all praise for the retired Australian paceman and even went on to mention that McGrath was better than him.

I also loved McGrath’s attitude

“I’ll tell you something about Glenn McGrath – he was a much better bowler than me. This is not false modesty. I may have gone past his wicket tally but I honestly believe McGrath’s bounce, relentless accuracy, aggression and ability to move the ball made him superior.

He had everything. And it is not a random, top-of-the-head assessment, either. I’ve been studying all of the great fast bowlers since I was about eight years old,” Anderson wrote in his column for Fox Sports.

In a career which spanned 14 years from 1993-2007, McGrath amassed 563 wickets from 143 encounters. ‘The Pigeon’, popularly called by his fans, bowled at an economy of 2.49, which telecasted his accuracy as a bowler. Anderson also hailed him for his competitive attitude on the pitch.

Moreover, he mentioned how he took a leaf out the retired fast bowler’s books in order to develop his attributes. “I also loved McGrath’s attitude. He had plenty of a snarl on the field – a bit like me, I suppose – and was super-competitive.

He hated giving away runs or not taking wickets. I heard him say once that he practised for when the ball didn’t swing. So if it did swing, it was a bonus. That philosophy has been a big part of my development,” the 36-year-old added.

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