CHENNAI : He is 36 years old, his legs will eventually give. He is past his expiry date, he won’t be a threat. He’s coming off an injury, he won’t be that effective. A few water-cooler back-and-forths before India left for England. Virat Kohli just about survived him. The rest, well... He’s still taking wickets. Trent Bridge is going to be another nightmare. A few subdued water-cooler back-and-forths on India’s Independence Day. In his seven-odd days on the field, James Anderson has shut even his naysayers in India up.
“He’s one of the modern greats of pace bowling, and also one of those few of this era who sets batsmen up before sending them back. Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath used to do it. Now, it’s Anderson,” remarked former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji. “Plus, give him conditions that suit him, and he can use his smarts to make life in the middle really difficult.”That acumen Balaji refers to was on full display during both Tests, especially when Anderson pounded India’s batting line-up into the ground in the first innings at Lord’s. “India’s batsmen are in their element when the ball is aimed at the stumps. He has used that as a surprise option, one that’s earned him wickets.” Murali Vijay and his splayed off-stump, and the slight bit of red on the edge of Ajinkya’s Rahane’s blade will nod in unison for that assertion.
Anderson’s famed out-swinger, as Balaji also pointed out, isn’t just the last note of his death knell. It’s what he uses to fatten up his sheep before sending them to the slaughterhouse. For maximising returns from short spells, he has brought down his pace a notch to lace his offerings with prodigious movement in the air and off the pitch.
An average deviation of 3.2 degrees (1.44 more than the average in England) that at times happens late into the trajectory of his mostly-good-length deliveries, coupled with a nagging fourth-stump line, implies constant teasing of both edges. So much so that it is has harassed batsmen into making that one mistake that Anderson then pounces on.“He thrives when batsmen are focussing on being defensive. If they’re on the back foot against him all the time, he has both the length and the movement to sow enough seeds of doubt in their mind,” explained Balaji.
Rahane’s dismissal during the first innings at Lord’s was one definitive instance of batsmen who are constantly pegged back in their crease becoming easy prey for the veteran speedster. Most of the 44 balls faced by the India vice-captain were negotiated with his weight being transferred in the direction of the stumps. Cue Anderson. A perfect in-between ball just outside off-stump, one that darted away 4.61 degrees to boot, left Rahane in a fix about whether he should go forward or stay back. The end result? A meek edge settling in the palms of Alastair Cook at first slip.
And, this is where Balaji feels that India could literally put their best foot forward. “Anderson with the new ball is a dangerous prospect. But, you need a batsman who can shorten his length by using his front foot more often to attack him. That’s what Viru (Virender Sehwag) used to do. That is exactly how Kohli has excelled; staying outside the crease, countering swing, and taking leg before and bowled dismissals out of the equation.
“The first 15 overs set the tempo, but our top-three are more proficient in defence. (KL) Rahul is attacking, but he needs to be more compact with his technique. It’s easier said than done, but taking Anderson on is one way of dealing with him.”Kohli may have done it, but in three days, the world will come to know if the rest of his batting lieutenants can move forward in Nottingham and take this Anderson-sized threat by the scruff.
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com