Mr. Anderson, England Captain

James Anderson has ambitions.  One of them is to captain England someday.  Those of you in the know, and some of you who aren’t are by now rolling around on the floor.  That’s right, a fast bowler couldn’t possibly be the Captain of England.

That would be like an episode of Star Trek where the traditional lamb-to-the-slaughter member of the away team in the red uniform suddenly had control of the bridge.  Unthinkable.

Whether or not Anderson would make a good captain is irrelevant.  He’s a fast bowler, therefore no chance.  Except that it’s not quite true.  Here’s a list of some of the fast bowlers who have captained England down the years:

  • Bob Willis – 18 Tests, 7 wins, 5 defeats
  • JWHT Douglas – 18 Tests, 8 wins, 8 defeats
  • Ian Botham – 12 Tests, 0 wins, 4 defeats
  • Gubby Allen – 11 Tests, 4 wins, 5 defeats
  • Andrew Flintoff – 11 Tests, 2 wins, 7 defeats
  • Arthur Gilligan – 9 Tests, 4 wins, 4 defeats

Unfortunately for Anderson, all of those except Willis could be classed as all-rounders.  So let’s say that his ambition is one step above Monty Panesar’s desire to open the innings.  And he knows it:

It’s something I’d like to do – be captain – but as a fast bowler and from the north, I suppose I’m very unlikely to get a look in

Enjoyed this post? Share & follow...