JAMES ANDERSON became the world’s best Test bowler yesterday and revealed how his friendship with Stuart Broad pushed him to the top.
Almost exactly 13 years after his Test debut, the Lancashire swing bowler finally achieved his ambition of the No1 global ranking.
He took over the mantle from his great mate Broad following an amazing haul of 18 wickets in the first two Tests against Sri Lanka.
Anderson is convinced his record-breaking partnership with Broad continues to elevate him to bigger and better achievements.
He explained: “We’ve both been in the top ten of the rankings for a reasonable amount of time. That shows we work well together.
“Whether it is subconscious or whatever, we do push each other along, trying to keep the standards high between us.
“We try to help each other. It works really well and it’s something we both really enjoy.
“There’s no envy between us. It might sound strange in what can be a competitive arena, but we’ve always enjoyed each other’s successes.
“We get on well off the field as well and are fairly successful golf partners! I think that all helps. We have a really good relationship.”
As Alastair Cook became the 12th man to reach 10,000 Test runs, Anderson is only the sixth man to pass 450 Test wickets, which he did in the Second Test at Chester-le-Street.
So it is probably a more noteworthy achievement.
He is a master of swing, seam, control and cunning and could finish with 600 Test victims.
“But, while Cook says he will recalibrate his target to a higher figure – perhaps 13,000 runs – Anderson is less concerned with milestones.
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He added: “Becoming No1 is something I’ve tried to achieve since I started playing so to get there finally is a good feeling.
“But it has never been a real driving force. I’m very different to Cooky in that respect. I don’t set goals, I don’t have a target of how many wickets I’ll take in a career or a year.
“I just want to try to bowl well, take wickets and enjoy playing.
“I find it easier when I’m not thinking about a lot of things. I don’t want any distractions and I find things like goals can be a bit of a distraction.
“I’ve been bowling well for a while. One thing you strive for as a professional is consistency, which I’ve not always had. But it’s been there for much of the last few years.
“There’s been the odd dip but on the whole I’ve been really pleased with the consistency. But I want to keep improving.”
England head coach Trevor Bayliss believes Cook could overtake Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and become the greatest Test run-scorer of all time.
Bayliss says the fires of determination are burning inside Cook even more powerfully than the Aussie believed possible.
Cook, 31, is still a long way short of Tendulkar’s total of 15,921 runs and would probably need at least six years to overhaul him.
But Bayliss sees no sign of any lessening of Cook’s ability, desire or willingness to prolong his career.
He explained: “Whether Cooky can go to the top of the list depends on how long he wants to keep doing it. Certainly, time is on his side, so there’s no reason he couldn’t if his heart is still in it.
“And I see no signs that his hunger has diminished. In fact, probably the opposite.
“When I took this job, some of the talk behind the scenes was that all the criticism Cooky had received and England not winning as much as he’d have liked was weighing him down a little.
“But now I think a newer, younger team and winning some matches has given him a new lease of life. Hopefully, he can continue for a few years yet.
“Cooky is right up there with any of the best international players. His powers of concentration are amazing.
“He’s not the biggest stroke-player of all time but he knows his game very well and sticks to it.
“He’s very patient. To score so many runs is a fantastic effort.”
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