Sachin Tendulkar, the India batting legend, says veteran England pacer James Anderson is one of the best exponents of reverse swing in modern-day cricket.
“Jimmy was possibly the first bowler who bowled reverse swing also reverse,” Tendulkar said in an online conversation with West Indies legend Brian Lara explaining what makes Anderson different to other fast bowlers.
“What I experienced over a period of time that he would hold the ball as if he is bowling an outswinger but at the release point, he would try and bring the ball back in.
“The number of batters would look at the wrist position and what he has actually done, he has shown you that he is bowling an inswinger but the imbalance between both sides of the ball will take the ball away from you.
“So what he has done, he has got you to commit to play for an outswinger and the ball, after covering almost three-quarters of the length of the pitch, starts leaving you. And that is something which was new to me,” he added.
The 47-year-old further said now Anderson’s fast-bowling partner Stuart Broad is using the same skill to trouble the opposition batters.
“Nobody had done that, now I have spotted even Stuart Broad doing that,” he said. “But Anderson started this long time ago. So, I rate him very, very high and he is one of the best exponents of the reverse swing.”
Anderson is England’s leading wicket-taker in Test cricket. With 871 international wickets to his name, the 33-year-old also holds the record for the most number of wickets (584) taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket.
