Jimmy Anderson’s relentless pursuit of personal improvement and a desire to push against his advancing years has led him to go down a YouTube wormhole and study the technique of the former sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis.
Aged 38 years and 177 days, Anderson surpassed Richard Hadlee as the oldest seam bowler to claim a Test five-wicket haul in Asia, as figures of six for 40 in Sri Lanka’s first innings in Galle once again underlined his durability and skill.
“I don’t think I’m surprising myself. The more work you do, the more rewards you get generally,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard on my fitness the last 12 months and lockdowns have helped that quite a bit.
“I’m working on stuff like running technique to make me quicker. I don’t see why I can’t keep improving just because I’m getting older. I am obsessed with Carl Lewis at the minute, watching him run.
“I don’t know if you can see a comparison with me chasing the ball to the boundary. It’s about trying to take pressure off my body. If I have got good technique doing stuff then hopefully muscle injuries don’t come around as much as they can do as you get older.
“To be honest, age is something that I don’t really take into account. I don’t wake up thinking, right I’m 38 and however many days. I’m thinking I’m still someone who can do a job for England. I can still win games of cricket.”
Copying a nine-time Olympic gold medallist is one thing but a run of six Tests in Sri Lanka and India is a marathon, not a sprint. It has meant England have opted to rotate Anderson and Stuart Broad, but with the latter similarly thrifty and incisive during the seven-wicket win in the first Test, a case is growing for them to be reunited.
Asked if he could envisage a change of plan come the first Test in Chennai on 5 February, Anderson said: “I’d like to think so. I’m sure the coach and captain have got their thoughts, the selectors too. All we can do as bowlers is try to perform when we’re given the chance.”
Anderson’s workload of 29 overs was more than he expected before his first appearance in five months, while Mark Wood equalled his highest workload in a Test innings by sending down 28 in the heat and dust for figures of three for 84. Wood, who flies home to rest after this series, told the BBC’s Test Match Special: “That’s probably the most effort I’ve put in for England while maintaining the outcome. My pace was still up at the end and I was still trying to bowl to the captain’s plans.”
