James Anderson: England fast bowler looks back on his career 20 years after his Test debut
Monday marks exactly 20 years since England's most prolific fast bowler made his Test debut.
When he has recovered enough from a groin injury to win his next and 180th cap, Anderson will become the first England player since Brian Close in 1976 to extend his Test career into a third decade.
Anderson's journey since this Lord's arc against Zimbabwe in May 2003 saw him hit heights that no other pace taker in the history of the game could reach - 685 wickets and more.
He's #3 on the list of all-time Test wicket takers, could be #2 before summer ends and will end his career knowing that he is unlikely to be successful.
Does his debut alongside Yorkshire all-rounder Anthony McGrath, who retired ten years ago, the 20-year-old Anderson was less than a year away from being a regular in Burnley Cricket Club's first XI. p>
It was back to Burnley , at his former primary school in St Mary's, where Anderson reflected on his early years and rise to international cricket.
"My father was second team captain at Burnley. He was fine, an all-rounder," Anderson, now 40, told BBC Sport.
"I" I was watching Botham's Ashes on video, then when dad was playing, I was going out onto the court for tea, trying to hit some mum balls.
"I was constantly trying to make impressions or imitate people. If it was football, it would have been one of the Burnley players, or I was a bit of an Arsenal fan, so it would have been Ian Wright.
"In cricket, I would have tried to play like Darren Gough against the garage door."
Burnley Cricket Club, in the shadow of the football club's Turf Moor home, are one of the most winning teams in Lancashire's notoriously tough league.
Young Anderson would come back year after year, a little bigger and a little faster each time. He made his first-team debut aged 15 at the start of the 1998 season.
"It was very tough cricket," Anderson said. "In one of my first games I played five wide in the first round and I thought 'this will never end'. I learned quickly, at 15, that nerves are good. They have brings out the best in me. good place."
The Lancashire League is famous for its overseas professionals - Shane Warne in Accrington, Jason Gillespie in Rishton and Michael Clarke in Ramsbottom to name a few - and that was Anderson's big name...
Monday marks exactly 20 years since England's most prolific fast bowler made his Test debut.
When he has recovered enough from a groin injury to win his next and 180th cap, Anderson will become the first England player since Brian Close in 1976 to extend his Test career into a third decade.
Anderson's journey since this Lord's arc against Zimbabwe in May 2003 saw him hit heights that no other pace taker in the history of the game could reach - 685 wickets and more.
He's #3 on the list of all-time Test wicket takers, could be #2 before summer ends and will end his career knowing that he is unlikely to be successful.
Does his debut alongside Yorkshire all-rounder Anthony McGrath, who retired ten years ago, the 20-year-old Anderson was less than a year away from being a regular in Burnley Cricket Club's first XI. p>
It was back to Burnley , at his former primary school in St Mary's, where Anderson reflected on his early years and rise to international cricket.
"My father was second team captain at Burnley. He was fine, an all-rounder," Anderson, now 40, told BBC Sport.
"I" I was watching Botham's Ashes on video, then when dad was playing, I was going out onto the court for tea, trying to hit some mum balls.
"I was constantly trying to make impressions or imitate people. If it was football, it would have been one of the Burnley players, or I was a bit of an Arsenal fan, so it would have been Ian Wright.
"In cricket, I would have tried to play like Darren Gough against the garage door."
Burnley Cricket Club, in the shadow of the football club's Turf Moor home, are one of the most winning teams in Lancashire's notoriously tough league.
Young Anderson would come back year after year, a little bigger and a little faster each time. He made his first-team debut aged 15 at the start of the 1998 season.
"It was very tough cricket," Anderson said. "In one of my first games I played five wide in the first round and I thought 'this will never end'. I learned quickly, at 15, that nerves are good. They have brings out the best in me. good place."
The Lancashire League is famous for its overseas professionals - Shane Warne in Accrington, Jason Gillespie in Rishton and Michael Clarke in Ramsbottom to name a few - and that was Anderson's big name...
What's Your Reaction?
