Hunting in a Pack: The 15-year sustained greatness of Stuart Broad and James Anderson

Over the years, world cricket has seen several duos who have performed tremendously well for their team.

SportsTak

• Sun • 30 Jul 2023

Over the years, world cricket has seen several duos who have performed tremendously well for their team. It is like one feeds off the other's energy. Be it the partnership of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath or the scary tandem of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, the sport has been truly blessed with some of the greatest duos. The duo which stands atop comprises Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

Broad and Anderson first forged a partnership in 2007 when the former made his debut for the Three Lions in Test cricket. Anderson was more experienced by then as he made his England Test debut in 2003 and was already a household name with his swinging deliveries that troubled the best batters in the world.

When Broad burst into the scene, his partnership with Anderson clicked instantly. One had pace the other had swing. As a result, the opposition batters had no place to hide.

From 2007 to 2023, Broad and Anderson took charge of England's bowling attack in red-ball cricket. In order to prioritise Test cricket, the duo decided to part ways with ODIs and the glitzy T20s. The duo's sole objective was to become a menace in red-ball cricket.

Now that Broad stands on the cusp of donning England's threads for one last time, it's a good chance to look back at the achievements of the Broad-Anderson tandem.

Broad and Anderson have played 138 Tests together, picking a record 1,037 wickets. Only the pairing of Warne and McGrath has managed to pick 1,000 wickets together in Test matches but they managed 36 wickets less than two Englishmen.

Here's the list of most successful bowling pairs in Tests after Broad-Anderson and Warne McGrath:

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas bagged 895 wickets in 95 matches
Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose bagged 762 wickets in 95 matches
Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose bagged 762 wickets in 95 matches

On July 30 (Sunday), Broad and Anderson will have one last shot at increasing their tally of 1.037 wickets. It's a no-brainer to say that Broad would be charged up and raring to go, just like how he has been throughout the ongoing Ashes series.