Well done James Anderson

[Gollum]

Brilliant bowler when on song, never seen anybody owning Tendulkar like him.

[SLICKR392]

^ It's like good music watching him bowl at full swing. Lovely run up and action.

[Shogun]

Top class bowler :hatsoff: Unplayable when he's swinging it both ways.

[YCCC]

Not Botham quality but 100 Tests as a bowler and nearly 400 wickets is not to be sniffed at

[Gollum]

Not Botham quality but 100 Tests as a bowler and nearly 400 wickets is not to be sniffed at

I think purely as a bowler Jimmy tops Sir Ian. He is much better with the old ball(modern day master of reverse swing, check his spell in Kolkata 2012), more subtle with his swing tricks and better fitness. Ian was a bit lucky with how his wickets came, was never a top tier bowler in his days. Willis I think was much better than Botham.

[fineleg]

Bob Willis vs James Anderson - among the two, who was better?

[Raghav_12]

Not Botham quality but 100 Tests as a bowler and nearly 400 wickets is not to be sniffed at

He tops Botham as bowler.

[Marut]

Clouderson is one of the better modern bowlers but is overhyped. Averages 37 and 38 vs Aus and SA, 38 and 39 in Aus and SA respectively. In short, his figures are Ishantish against batsmen who can play pace bowling well. Averages 40 and 37 in SL and WI - so he is not that good on slow low pitches either. He is a Zak like bowler who blows hot and cold alternatively - very good at times and average at other times. No where comparable to a bowler like Steyn whose consistency is miles ahead of Jimmy. I have serious reservations with excellent reverse swing bowlers - this skill invariably seems to be linked to bottle caps and zippers. Better than Botham as a pure bowler but I wouldn't rank him with Willis. Willis was good against every team except WI (yeah, that is a blot on Willis career) but Anderson has too many bogey teams/nations.

[Zero_Unit]

:hatsoff: Always remember the yorker with which he bowled Yusuf yohana in 2003 WC.

that was a good ball indeed. BTW i understand that Yusuf changed his religion but wtf was the point on changing his name aswell? I never understood that to be honest ...

[Temujin Khaghan]

well done and he is fifth on my list of English fast/ fast medium bowlers are Fred Trueman Alec Bedser Ian Botham Bob Willis jimmy his fitness and single minded determination while working out batsmen in the other camp are the highlights of his resume. never a genius level player like steyn, but has touched the genius zone several times in the last 6 years. Like Warne and Gillispie; Swann and Broad have complemented his bowling from the other end, though on a lesser level. one of the best things about jimmy is that he picked and chose skills from other bowlers which could be useful for him. zaheer khan's reverse swing and asif's wobble seam delivery were perfectly replicated with a lot of practice. Like petrol on a lit matchstick, swinging conditions in England aided his skillset to much glory. Thats why his best performance was in Kolkota, where he thrived even in unfriendly fast bowling conditions. 135 Test matches 500 Wickets shouldn't be a problem from here. ///// London, Jan 1 (IANS) England pace bowler James Anderson Saturday attributed a part of his success to seamers Zaheer Khan and Mohammad Asif and said he learnt a lot watching them. Anderson has been in sparkling from in the Ashes series, picking up 17 wickets from four Tests with still a Test to go in Sydney starting Monday. ‘To get to this stage has been about practice. I have watched a lot of other international cricketers. I learned a lot from Asif in England, how he hit the seam, wobbled it a bit and could swing it a bit too,’ Anderson was quoted as saying by The Mirror. ‘He (Asif) is a world-class bowler and I try to learn and develop different kinds of deliveries from that and hiding the ball is something I picked up from Zaheer Khan in India.’ On becoming the World No.4 Test bowler, Asif said: ‘I always knew I had a lot more ability and skill than I showed in my early career. But I have improved a hell of a lot. I also knew I could do it because that is what I did when I first started. I just thought that if I could try and improve as much as I could and work hard at my game, I would be performing well for England.’ - See more at: http://www.inewsone.com/2011/01/01/learnt-a-lot-from-zaheer-and-asif-anderson/17385#sthash.D3HaQYjn.dpuf/////

[Temujin Khaghan]

Zaheer Khan is very talented and came back from England for a second stint with much vigour and played a hand in winning two overseas test series in NZ and England. His greatest weakness was his attitude towards training. Jimmy looks like a flexible cane stick - hard bendable and capable on giving a nasty smack. nice repetitive action bowling at 85-88mph on a regular basis. Zaheer looked very plumpy for a fast bowler and bowled at 83-85mph during his second stint - when he was at his peak. but we should never compare Zaheer's stats with Jimmy's because on a regular basis the former played on dustbowls and flat tracks while the latter played in swinging conditions.