Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: 5 incredible facts about the James Anderson-Brendon McCullum partnership | 5 facts about Anderson & McCullum
James Anderson is one of the few modern-day greats adorned with this incredible workhorse attitude. At 39, he ran down the New Zealand batting line-up like a pack of cards upon his return to the English Test squad.
This series also marks the beginning of Brendon McCullum’s tenure as the head coach of the Ben Stokes-led side. McCullum, only 40, had retired from the whites in 2016 and this is his first major international coaching assignment after guiding the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He will expect Anderson to play an instrumental role in giving a new shape and sparking a turnaround for the English Test team. Here are five interesting facts about the partnership between McCullum and Anderson, two absolute greats of the modern game.
5 facts about the Anderson-McCullum partnership
1. Anderson is only a year younger than McCullum
McCullum was a brilliant Test cricketer back in the days. He had made 100 consecutive appearances in his whites since his debut. Many felt that his retirement at 35 in early 2016 was a bit earlier than expected.
On the other hand, Anderson has continued working his socks off to remain relevant for the English team in the longest format of the game. He is playing his 170th Test currently and coaching him currently is a contemporary who is less than a year older than the pacer!
2: Anderson has taken 211 Test wickets since McCullum’s retirement
Certain players are unable to take over 200 test wickets in their entire careers. Then, there is Anderson who has scalped 211 dismissals in the whites since McCullum retired in February 2016. The seamer has consistently taken a considerable number of wickets in the last six years. Not many testaments are required to appreciate his longevity in the game but this one fact might come as a sweet surprise for many of his admirers.
3: Anderson’s long lease at Lord’s
Anderson relishes playing at the Lord’s and there are no two ways about it. He has taken seven five-wicket hauls in the iconic ground. Overall, he has scalped 114 test wickets in the stadium.
Interestingly, the 39-year-old had taken a five-wicket haul in his international debut against Zimbabwe on this ground way back in May 2003. McCullum hadn’t even debuted on the international stage at that point in time. Now, 19 years down the line, the Kiwi has become England’s coach but Anderson is still doing the same job as he delivered figures of 16-6-66-4 on the first day of the first Test.
4. McCullum has been a strong advocate of the Anderson-Broad duo
McCullum kicked off his journey as the England coach by calling back the duo of Anderson and Stuart Broad after the veterans were dropped from the squad towards the fag end of Joe Root’s captaincy.
Apparently, the swashbuckling Kiwi has been a long-term advocate of the two pacers. His tweet on them, dating as back as 2017, reads, “Jimmy Anderson 122 Tests,467 wickets. Stuart Broad 102 Tests,368 wickets. Whenever the time comes, good luck replacing that!”
We are pretty sure McCullum is not losing sweat over replacing this iconic duo anytime soon!
5. Unique head-to-head record
Anderson has dismissed McCullum more times in ODIs (4) than in Test cricket (3). This is irrespective of the fact that the English pacer is widely regarded as a great in the longest format of the game and McCullum was more of a limited-overs star.
McCullum in fact maintained a great average of 48.3 and 57.8 against Anderson in Tests and ODIs respectively. The English pacer couldn’t dismiss him in whites in consecutive series’ that took place in 2013 and 2015 between the two sides. We wonder if the two of them ever reflect back on these faceoffs in the dressing room these days!
