England’s top wicket-taker in Test matches, James Anderson, is preparing to play in his tenth Ashes series at 40.
He’s had mixed fortunes in the series but will be looking to help England reclaim the ballot box for the first time since 2015 when he takes to the pitch this summer.
Here, Courier Sport’s Lawrence Booth reflects on the designer’s nine series against Australia so far.
2006-07 (Australia won 5-0) 3 Tests, 5 wickets at 82
Anderson had been a spare during the 2005 Ashes, unable to break the Fab Four of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones.
England’s James Anderson prepares to compete in his 10th Ashes series, starting Friday
James Anderson struggled horribly during his first real taste of Ashes cricket in 2006-7
The now English great was dropped after figures of one for 108 in Adelaide before returning to Sydney
Now, on his first test trip to Australia, he struggled horribly, starting with match figures of one for 195 in Brisbane, despite firing Michael Clarke.
Dropped after one for 108 in Adelaide, he managed a three for when he returned for the final test in Sydney. But it will take a long time before she sheds her reputation for inefficiency abroad.
2009 (England won 2-1) 5 Tests, 12 wickets to 45
After helping save the series opener in Cardiff with a nervous last wicket with Monty Panesar, Anderson struck the cream of the Australian stick in his first run at Lord’s – Phillip Hughes for four, Ricky Ponting for two, Clarke for one and Marcus North for a duck.
He followed that up with a five for in a rainy draw at Edgbaston, but faded after that and was eclipsed in the decider at the Oval by Stuart Broad’s burst winner.
2010–11 (England won 3–1) 5 Tests, 24 wickets to 26
Aided in part by a wet Australian summer, a wiser and better Anderson than the one who had struggled four years earlier enjoyed a superb tour.
He fired Clarke, Ponting and a newcomer called Steve Smith three times each, and in Adelaide helped put Australia down to two-for-three, from which they never recovered.
He returned to Australia in 2010-11 and had improved dramatically as England won under
Sitting in the Sydney Pavilion after his seven wickets in the game helped England triumph Down Under for the first time in 24 years, he scorned critics who questioned his abilities in Australian conditions: “They don’t know obviously not much about cricket. ‘
2013 (England won 3-0) 5 Tests, 22 wickets to 29
The series began with Anderson Ashes’ greatest performance, a pair of five-wicket runs to claim a tense 14-run victory at Trent Bridge, including Brad Haddin, the last Australian wicket to fall.
He followed that up with his career-worst Test analysis of 179 games, none for 116 in a rainy draw at Old Trafford, his home ground. But a four for the Oval completed their series tally as England won 3-0.
2013-14 (Australia won 5-0) 5 Tests, 14 wickets to 43
Like every other England bowler, Anderson couldn’t match the pace and ferocity of Mitchell Johnson and got a taste of Australia’s bloodlust when Clarke told him in Brisbane: “Get ready for a fucking broken arm.”
Things got worse in Perth, where George Bailey sparked a statement by hitting Anderson for 28 in an over. He responded with four first-inning wickets in Melbourne, including Clarke for the ninth and final time, but it was a bruising trip in which England’s bowlers rarely had enough runs to bowl.
Australia captain Michael Clarke told Anderson Mitchell Johnson would break his arm bowling in 2013
2015 (England won 3-2) 3 Tests, 10 wickets to 27
Anderson missed the last two Tests with side strain, but not before playing a key role in England’s 2-1 lead to Nottingham, where Broad decimated Australia with his famous fate of eight in 15.
In Cardiff, Anderson collected three in 43 in the opening innings to put England on the right track. Then, after the Australians leveled the series at Lord’s (Anderson none for 137 in the game), he ran through their middle order at Edgbaston with six for 47, his best figures in 35 Ashes Tests.
2017-18 (Australia won 4-0) 5 Tests, 17 wickets to 27
England were blown away, but Anderson was one of the few to emerge with any credit.
In the day/night test in Adelaide, he went too short in the first set but picked up five for 43 in the second as the pink ball deflected into the spotlight.
It remains his only five for in Australia. He shot four for 116 on Perth’s 662 for nine and it all went just 2.11 a plus as the hosts treated him with respect.
2019 (Series drawn 2-2) 1 Test, 0 wickets for 1 innings
After throwing four overs for a run against Australian openers Cameron Bancroft and David Warner on the first morning at Edgbaston, Anderson suffered pain in his right calf, which he had torn while playing for Lancashire a month earlier.
And that was it. Steve Smith took advantage of his absence to score two hundreds and put Australia ahead.
Anderson managed just four overs at the 2019 Ashes after feeling pain in his calf he tore a month earlier
He sat out the rest of the game as Australia cashed in and took an early series lead
2021-22 (Australia won 4-0) 3 Tests, 8 wickets at age 23
Omitted – incredibly – from the first Test in Brisbane, Anderson could do little to stop the Aussie juggernaut on his return.
Like four years earlier, batsmen tried to see him off and attack the rest – Anderson’s save rate of 1.79 is his best in any series he’s played in more than one Test .
In Melbourne he was exceptional, with numbers of 23-10-33-4. And in Sydney, he helped save the game with the bat. But, for England, it was another chastening journey.