James Anderson Biography – Early Life, Career, Stats & Records

James Michael Anderson widely considered as one of the greatest bowlers in history played for England between 2002 and 2024. He holds the record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket. Anderson was a member of the England Team which won the T20 World Cup title in 2010.

In February 2023, he became the oldest player to top the ICC men’s Test bowling rankings. Anderson was the first fast bowler to take 600 or more test wickets. He became the first fast bowler to take 700 wickets. He has played the most test matches for England, and the second most of any cricketer, behind Sachin Tendulkar.

He is also England’s highest wicket-taker in ODI with 269 wickets. He shares with Joe Root the World record for highest tenth-wicket partnership in Tests (198). He retired from international cricket on July 12, 2024.

James Anderson Biography

James Anderson’s Early and Personal Life 

James Anderson completed his schooling at St Mary’s and St Theodore’s RC High School in Burnley. He played for Burnley Cricket Club from a young age. During his school holidays, he used to play for the club’s second Xl of which his father was the captain.

At a certain point, Anderson was one of the fast bowlers in the Lancashire League. He is a football fan who supports his hometown team, Burnley. Anderson also worked in Burnley’s ticket office on a part-time basis during his younger age.

He got married to Daniella Lloyd in 2006, a model he met in 2004 while on England duty in London. The couple has two daughters Lola Rose and Ruby Luxe.

He also ventured into fashion design in 2012, designing for Elvis Jesus, with proceeds of the sale going to his sponsored charity, Nordoff Robbins.

Anderson also agreed to be the face of British hair styling brand Hairbond in June 2013. He launched his own menswear brand in October 2014 and has been working in conjunction with British watchmaker Harold Pinchbeck to release a watch since 2015.

James Anderson Career

Domestic Career

Anderson made his domestic debut for Lancashire in a List A one-day match against Suffolk in the NatWest Trophy 2000 picking the wicket of Russell Catley as his first Competitive wicket.

Anderson made his first-class debut for Lancashire in 2002 and played 13 matches and took 50 wickets at an average of 22.28 with three five-wicket hauls. He took his maiden first-class wicket in May 2002, dismissing Ian Ward.

He was also awarded the NBC Denis Compton Award for Lancashire’s Most Promising Young County Player in the 2002 season. In 2003, Anderson became the youngest player to take a hat-trick for Lancashire, just a week before his Test match debut against Zimbabwe.

During the match against Worcestershire in May 2004, Anderson recorded his maiden FC ten-wicket haul. He was propelled into the England side soon after his Lancashire debut and returned to rediscover his form after winter tours with England.

He had finished the 2005 season with 60 first-class wickets at an average of 30.21 and 27 one-day wickets at an average of 22.00. Anderson did not feature 2006 season of Lancashire because of a street fracture of the back sustained in early May.

He played only two matches for Lancashire during the season and played only one FC class match in the season. he was limited to three four-over spells by the ECB, which was wary of him getting injured again.

At the start of the 2009 English cricket season, Anderson picked an FC match with 11/109 against Sussexx as Lancashire won by 8 wickets. It was the only FC match he played for Lancashire before being called into the England squad for a series against the West Indies.

He picked 188 wickets at 24.37 from 48 FC matches with Lancashire and 66 wickets at 21.78 in 44 List A matches.

International Career

Test Career

James Anderson has a long history of career in tests playing 188 matches and picking 704 wickets with an average of 26.45 and an economy of 2.79.

• James Anderson made his Test debut during the 1st Test match against Zimbabwe on May 22, 2003, picking a five-wicket haul in the first innings helping the side to win by an innings and 92 runs. The Test series against South Africa made a hallow Anderson’s reputation as England 202 after coming from behind, Anderson finished the five-match series with 15 wickets at an average of 39.86.
  • His best figures 5/102 came at Trent Bridge in the third Test where he used movement of the seam to claim his second five-wicket haul in his fifth test. in September Anderson was awarded a central contract with the ECB. He suffered from a niggling knee injury and fatigue as the season.
• Anderson was selected in Test squads for the winter tour of Sri Lanka, but injuries made to feature in only one test on that tour.
• Jimmy was part of the Test squad which played in the West Indies, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe in the season 2004-25. But he did not play in the Test series with players such as James Kirtley.
  • Andrson retained his place in the Test squad as a replacement for Simon Jones due to injury in the last three tests. In the final test, he regained his confidence and returned to the top of his game.
• He was part of the South Africa tour but was dropped for the third test after a poor performance in the second test.
• Anderson was selected in the Test squad for the tour of Pakistan, but spinner Shaun Udal was chosen to fill the bowler’s spot by Simon Jones. He did not play in any tests on the tour.
• Anderson was not selected for the Senior side tour of India in 2006. Jones returned from injury and was chosen ahead of him. He was selected for England’s A tour of the West Indies tour.

• After an impressive display by Liam Plunkett in the second test in Mohali, Anderson was recalled for the final match of the series helping the side to take figures of 4/40 in the first innings.
• The King of Swing was part of Test matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But was ruled out of the summer international season with Mahmood named as the replacement.
• He was part of the Ashes squad in September 2006 although at that point he had not played any first-class cricket in six months.
• In 2007, Anderson did not feature in the Test series against the West Indies. But he played in all three Tests of the series with India, coming into the side for the injured Matthew Hoggard.
  • He picked his 50th test wicket when he dismissed MS Dhoni for a duck. It was achieved in Anderson’s 17th test match and increased his 53 wickets at an average of 35.67. He picked the wickets of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly in the same innings. He picked his best test figures of 5/42 in the second test.
• Anderson was part of the squad which toured Sri Lanka in 2007. He became only the second bowler in Test cricket to have six boundaries taken off a single over and was dropped for the final two tests.
• During the New Zealand tour in 2008, he was part of the squad but was left out for the first test.
  • During the second test, he picked 5/73 in the first innings and completed the match with 7/13 and helped the side to secure a 126-run victory.
  • His performance in the third match was less effective as he picked an injury while playing football before the tests. He returned with figures of 1/153 in the third test.
• Jimmy was later in included in the home tour against New Zealand in 2008 where he picked his highest return of Wickets in a series.
  • He picked five wickets for 130 in the first match which resulted in a draw. He picked with match figures of 5/139 as England won by six wickets in the second test.
  • He scored 28 runs in a partnership of 76 runs with Stuart Broad. He also picked up 7/ 43 in the first innings and a career-best return of 9/98 overall as England secured an innings and nine-run victory.
  • He picked his 100th wicket in the final match of the series. He picked the wicket of Jacques Kallis. This feat was achieved in his 29th test.
• James Anderson was dropped for the first test in the West Indies tour in 2009 and was recalled for the second test but the match was abandoned. With the match after two days rearranged he went wicketless in the match.
  •  In the fourth match, he picked three wickets for 125 in 37 overs while the match ended in the draw.
  • In the final test, he picked only one wicket for 70 runs with an economy of 240 runs.
•  During England’s two-match test series against Bangladesh in 2010, he picked a total of 9 wickets helping the side to win by 2-0.
• England played a test series against Pakistan in 2010 at home where he returned with figures of 5/54 and 6/17 in the first test.
  • He picked 11 wickets for 71 in the second test while picked 3/26 in the third test. Through this series, Anderson established himself as the lead for England’s attack.
• In 2011, Anderson was picked in the squad to play against Australia where he picked 21 wickets in the five-match test series and became England’s youngest bowler to claim 200 test wickets.
• Anderson picked 4 wickets in the test series against Sri Lanka in 2011 where the side won the series 1-0.
• During India’s tour in 2011, he dismissed 5 batters for 65 runs in the first test. He picked a total of 19 in the test series where England secured a dominating victory 4-0.
• He was handy in the England tour of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2011-2012 where he picked three wickets against Pakistan which did not help the side to win the series.  He picked 9 wickets in the Sri Lanka tour and was named as the England Cricketer of the Year.
• The Burnley Express was part of the England squad which played test series against West Indies and South Africa in 2012.
• During the first test match against New Zealand in 2012, he picked 7/70 and became the fourth English bowler to take 300 test wickets.
• In the 2013-14 Ashes, He picked 19 wickets in the series and played a crucial role in England’s 3-0 victory.
• James Anderson toured Australia as a part of 2013-14 Ashes where he picked 10 wickets which couldn’t prevent the side’s defeat.
• During his 100th test match, played against West Indies in 2015 at Antigua, he became England’s all-time highest test match wicket-taker surpassing Ian Botham’s record.
• During the New Zealand tour of England in 2015, he picked his 400th wicket and completed his 1000th test run.
• Jimmy picked 10 wickets during the test series against Australia in 2015, helping the side to secure a 3-2 win for England.
• During the test series against Pakistan in 2015, his bowling figures could not help the side to secure victory in the series.
• During the test series against Sri Lanka in 2016, James Anderson picked up 20 wickets and become ended the series as the World’s Number One Test bowler.
• The Burnley Express was named as England Test vice-captain after Ben Stokes. Anderson played all five matches in the 2017-18  where England picked a 4-0 series.
• During the second test against New Zealand in 2018, he surpassed fast bowler ever in Test history surpassing Courtney Walsh’s record of 30,019 deliveries in a test career.
• Anderson took a five-wicket haul during a match test series against West Indies in 2018-19 at Kensington Oval. During the series, he also becomes the first England bowler to take 200 test wickets away from home.
• On August 25, 2020, Anderson became the first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets during the test series against West Indies.
• Jimmy played in the 2021-22 ashes, the only highlight being 4/33 in the second test at Adelaide as Australia won the five-test series 4-0.
• He was part of the home test series against New Zealand, South Africa, and India playing two out of three tests and being England’s fourth-highest wicket-taker, all three above him three above him having played every match, with 11 wickets at 18.63.
• Anderson was selected for four tests in the 2023 Ashes series where he finished 5/427 from 154 overs throughout the series.
• In 2024, he played a test series against India in February where he claimed his 700th test wicket after dismissing Kuldeep Yadav in the first innings of the fifth test in Dharamsala. He became the first fast bowler to achieve the feat and the third player to do so.
• In May 2024, He announced that he would retire from International Cricket after playing the first test against West Indies at Lord’s. He retired from his international career after picking 704 wickets in tests.

ODI Career

Jimmy has played 194 ODI matches throughout his international career and bagged 269 wickets with an average of 29.22 and an economy of 4.92.

• James Anderson made his ODI debut on 15 December 2002 against Australia at Melbourne where he opened the bowling and recorded 1/46 from six overs. In the summer season 2003, He picked a hat-trick against Pakistan claiming Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, and Mohammad Sami wickets.
  • He was part of the ODI squad played against West Indies in 2004-05 where he picked 4 wickets at an average of 37.00. During the final ODI match, he picked his 50th ODI wicket, claiming the wicket of Chris Gayle for 41.
• Jimmy was part of the England squad which played in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004 where the English men ended up as runners.
• Anderson returned home early from England’s victorious ODI series in Australia in 2007.
• England won their first ODI series win at home in three years defeating India in 2007. He claimed his 100th ODI wicket dismissing Gautam Gambhir for 3 runs. He had talked 103 wickets from 70 matches at an average of 27.02.
• Anderson was part of the England squad which played in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2007.
• During England’s tour of South Africa in 2009-10, Anderson played in the ODI series claiming 3/60 in the second match and 5/23 in the fourth match.
• The King of Swing played in the first ODI against Bangladesh in 2010. picking three wickets in the first match, while he went wicketless in the second game.
• In the 2011 ODI World Cup, he played in the games against Netherlands, India, and Ireland. But did not feature in the match against Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals where they suffered a 10-wicket defeat.
• James Anderson was part of the ODI series against West Indies in 2012 and also played in 5 match ODI series against Anderson.
  • Anderson picked 4 wickets in the third ODI and 2 wickets in the fifth ODI helping the side to end the series in a draw.

• During the New Zealand tour in 2012-13, Anderson returned to the ODI side and England’s leading ODI wicket-taker when he took his 235th wicket.
• James Anderson was part of the squad that claimed the runner position in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
• Jimmy was rested during the ODI series against Australia in 2013-14 but played against Sri Lanka at home where he picked 5 wickets throughout the series.
• James Anderson was part of the home squad when New Zealand toured England in 2015 to play 5 five-match ODI series.
• He was part of the England ODI World Cup 2015 squad, but his experience couldn’t help the side as they were knocked out of the tournament in the early stages.

T20I career

James Anderson made his T20I debut during the only T20I match on the England tour of Australia in 2007 where Australia won the match by 77 runs. He picked a wicket in four overs for 64 runs. He has featured in 19 T20Is and picked 18 wickets in the format.

• Anderson led the pace attack in the T20I series against West Indies in 2009, where he picked only 1 wicket for 19 runs in three overs.
•  His Last T20I match came from the second match of the England tour of South Africa in 2009 where he picked a wicket in four overs he bowled.
• He was part of the England squad which won the T20 World Cup in 2010 after defeating Australia by 7 wickets.

James Anderson Awards

• Anderson was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Burnley on December 08, 2011.
• He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for “Services to Cricket” during Queen’s birthday honors in 2015.
• Jimmy received his OBE at Buckingham Palace on February 11, 2016.