From The Viser...

At 90 mph, when the kookaburra hits that sweetest spot on the willow, there is a knocking sound that delights everybody watching or around. As a batsman, nothing better than being able to execute such shots one after another consistently and simply watching it from the follow through. From that grill in the visor, there is a very thin line of difference between staying focused on the next bowl that comes up rather than getting overwhelmed with the one you just nailed. The pace of the bowl wouldn't be that a problem if it hadn’t had the potential to deviate its path through the air. But, that's one of the beauties of this game, bowlers running in fast, swinging around and the fielders within that 30 yard circle ready to catch hold of any mistake made by the batsman on strike.

Cricket has often been identified as a batsman's game, however I have always felt the other way round. As a batsman you need to survive all those 6 deliveries in the over, while the bowler needs just one good bowl. Of Course a lot depends upon the curation of the pitch, the cracks and the grass on the turf, which can even worsen the situation for a batsman just coming out new to play a fresh delivery; fraction of error, and you are back to pavilion. Just like the way matches have evolved, there have been some amazing fast bowlers who have shown some extraordinary performances consistently in all these years and made it a nightmare for the opponent team’s batsmen to bat those overs, now whether you let them bowl on a flat turf like Chinnaswamy or be it the deadly Perth, they are gonna come hard on you at every spell.

With 600 Test wickets in his bag, James Anderson will always be known to be in that list of elite fast bowlers who can change the course of the game in just an over. Yes, that’s a big list yet again, be it Wasim, Shane Bond, Steyn or any one from the Caribbean attack, they were all capable enough, with none better than another. But, why do I write about Jimmy Anderson?

Well, firstly, not every day you will see a fast bowler making up to the 600 in a test format. With such lesser number of test matches played these days and flat pitches coming around, it's not easy to bowl 15-20 overs with the same consistency and come back again in next innings. With the growing popularity of T20, everybody wants to see quick results, be it the team management or the spectators, of course there is nothing wrong in it, after all the game is reaching out to more and more population that way. But, with this evolution of the game, it’s not easy to pick up a fast bowler who can be around the team in almost all formats, get a break through at the start and then go back to the third man to save that sharp cut played by the batsman. Damn that fitness level!

With a shabby first few years of international career, nobody would have thought that this Lancashire born pacer would once come up to become the best fast bowler in the world and rank at the top with the number of wickets for England. With a very classical action, James Anderson has the potential to swing the bowl away, sharply, while he can be a nightmare for the batsman on strike with his reverse swing with the old ball. Still in doubts? Well, I would suggest you check out his bowling clips of the 2010 Ashes, where he thrilled every person on the seat with his performance. In 150 plus matches, he stands out with 600 wickets with a wicket almost every 26th ball and a wicket every 30th ball in ODI’s. What more can you ask your front line bowler to do for you! No wonders, he stands at the top when it comes to swing bowling at the moment.

Well, lets not brag about it more here. From that viser, when you see someone coming up to you and bowling with his full heart, you gotta respect that individual. But, then we also had a chance to encounter the lights of Gilchrist, Sehwag, McCullum and Gayle who will hit you even harder, without even thinking about how much it took you to run down through that action and speed. Will cover them in upcoming blogs.