The Ashes 2013: James Anderson - The one man army?

James Anderson’s heroics won England the first Test

England started the fifth day of the Trent Bridge Test needing 4 wickets to win, and the bowling spearhead James Anderson, responded by bowling like a man possessed.

During a marathon spell of 13 overs, he found the edge four times, three of which were taken in the slips to leave England on the brink of victory. With Australia still 80 runs away from the target, surely Anderson had done enough to secure the victory.

Or so it seemed. Once Anderson was taken off the attack, the last Australian pair hardly had any troubles in dealing with the rest of the attack and made a serious charge towards the target. It left the skipper Alastair Cook with no other options but to throw the ball back to his go-to man after lunch. And quite inevitably, Anderson delivered again.

The celebrations by the English players after the last wicket fell betrayed more a sense of relief than joy. The way the Australian lower order negated the attack in the absence of Anderson has, no doubt, given the hosts plenty to worry about ahead of the next Test.

During the press conference, while Cook took great pains to explain that England are not overly dependent on Anderson, the statistics tell a different story. Not only he picked up half the Australian wickets to fall, he also bowled more overs than Stuart Broad and Steven Finn combined.

In the first innings too, it was Anderson who proved to be the difference. He produced a brute of a delivery to grab the big wicket of Michael Clarke and followed it with another incisive spell the next day to reduce the Aussies to 117/9. On a wicket which offered very little for the seamers after the first day, the ace paceman adapted brilliantly to the conditions and showcased his mastery on reverse swing to get the job done.

Michael Clarke got a peach of a delivery from Anderson

Apart from his dexterity, his meticulous planning was also on view when he dismissed the well set opener Chris Rogers with a well disguised slower delivery in the second innings.

While Anderson went from strength to strength and reaffirmed his status as England’s lead bowler, the efforts of the support cast left much to be desired. Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Steven Finn bowled well in patches but were unable to sustain the pressure for longer periods.

The biggest disappointment of the match for England was Finn’s performance. After sending early jitters through the Aussie lineup during a terrific spell with the new ball on the first evening, he looked out of his depths and struggled for control in the rest of the match. It culminated in him enduring a terrible final day in which he was called upon to bowl just 2 of the 39.5 overs and gave away 20 runs.

Given his height and the pace he generates, there is always a wicket taking delivery lurking around the corner but it come at a very heavy price. His economy rate in the Test was exceptionally high at 4.68, and he wilted under pressure when the Aussie batsmen looked to counter-attack. The conditions for the second Test at Lord’s are also expected to be quite dry and the team management might think of replacing him with Tim Bresnan, a better exponent of reverse swing.

Apart from Anderson, the other trump card England possess is Graeme Swann but the off-spinner was far from his best at Trent Bridge. Making a comeback after a calf strain that put him on the sidelines during the recent Champions Trophy, Swann struggled to get his length right throughout the Test.

Swann’s ineffectiveness can compound England’s problems

The champion off-spinner, who has played a key role in England’s recent success and is supposed to be one of the biggest difference between the two teams, was perhaps done in by the weight of expectations.

On a dry wicket against a lineup consisting of as many as six left-handed batsmen, the stage was set for Swann to single-handedly bowl his side to victory on his home ground. But barring a testing spell on the fourth evening, his bowling effort was punctuated by far too many full tosses and short deliveries as he at times seemed impatient and trying too hard to get the wickets.

Stuart Broad had a brilliant game with the bat (he scored a total of 89 runs in the match) but managed just 3 wickets with the ball. Though he managed to pick up the crucial wickets of Watson and Clarke in the second innings, he will have to come up a better show with the new ball to ease the pressure on Anderson.

Despite England’s shortcomings, the Australians were unable to seize the initiative as Anderson kept answering his captain’s call with great proficiency. But the question is for how long can he carry the attack all by himself. He also showed on Sunday what a supremely fit athlete he is, but if the cramp attack just before the lunch break that day is any indication, the workload has certainly taken its toll on the body.

The way James Anderson is handled can drastically affect England’s Ashes campaign

With the 10-wicket haul at Trent Bridge, Anderson has moved one step closer to greatness, but it must be ensured that there isn’t a heavy price paid for the glory. It is easy for Cook to get tempted to throw the ball to his talismanic pacer at every sign of trouble, but the skipper must realize what a valuable asset the 30-year-old is and see to it that he is not over-burdened.

The rest of the bowling crew, all match winners in their own right, must step up and get themselves counted if England are to live up to the billing as overwhelming favourites in the Ashes.