Year in Review: Top 5 ODI performances of the year 2013

3. James Anderson – 5/34 (England vs NZ, Napier, Feb 2013)

James Anderson – Swinging it for England

Now, limited-overs cricket is not just about those who wield the willow like a sub-machine gun. It is also about those guys who can make the white ball talk, making the rival camp quake in their boots. Jimmy Anderson did just that at Napier against the Black Caps.

The Lancashire seamer produced a fine spell of swing and pace as he quietly demolished the Kiwi line-up despite Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum landing hefty blows in a whirlwind alliance. Debutant Hamish Rutherford just wafted outside the off stump to a length delivery from Anderson, and promptly began the walk back to the pavilion. Watling had fallen to the same trick before, and the Burnley Express had given away only eleven runs in his six-over first spell.

He returned to dismiss Nathan McCullum before getting the prized wicket of Taylor, using a delivery that moved back in a bit and cramped the latter for room, and cleaned up the tail to finish with only his second five-for in ODI cricket. A bit ironic, considering the fact that his first five-wicket haul came in the World Cup ten years ago!

For sheer accuracy and miserly economy, this performance makes it to the top five on this list.