World Cup 2019: James Anderson's Burnley bond

A huge hoarding welcomes you as you approach the Old Trafford cricket ground lsquoHome of James Andersonrsquo it says with the English pacer adorning the posterTherersquos a World Cup on here but strangely Englandrsquos highest international wickettaker 862 in all formats is not a part of the team However for everyone at Lancashire County Cricket Club this fact is of little relevance for Anderson is their ultimate hero They are happy listening to his commentary on BBCrsquos Test Match Special whenever England are playing And on other days they follow his exploits with Lancashire in Div II of the ongoing County ChampionshipA young James Anderson sitting right with Burnley Cricket Club playersSo how did this son of an optician in Burnley who always wanted to be a footballer go on to become one of the worldrsquos finest pacers Anderson played his early cricket at Burnley Cricket Club where he joined the U13 team Today the club has a special suite named after himMichael Brown the president of the club who also played during the time Anderson made his entry He says the pacer was not a standout performer initially ldquoWe all played together We were U13s but also played in the U15s Jimmy has always been a natural athlete He was very lean a good fielder and liked his football a lot He was pretty good at other sports too He had a lovely bowling action and batted okay At 13 he was a talented cricketer However he didnrsquot particularly stand out thenrdquo Brown tells middayTherersquos been a close bond between the Anderson and Brown families ldquoJimmy is a couple of years younger than me but my brother David is the same age as him We all played for the club in the U13 team thatrsquos where we first met each other When I started playing for the clubrsquos second team Jimmyrsquos dad Michael was my captain while his uncle played for the first team So the family has a history with the clubrdquo says Brown whose brother David was the Best Man at Andersonrsquos wedding and is also the Godfather of one of his two childrenJames Anderson with his friends David and Michael Brown rightBrown remembers Andersonrsquos debut match for the clubrsquos first team when he was 16 ldquoMy dad was the captain and we were all playing that game Jimmy was quite raw but was bowling pretty quickrdquo says Brown who now lives in KentInterestingly Brownrsquos mother Valerie had a role to play in Anderson getting his first big break with the Lancashire junior team ldquoMy brother and I were already in the Lancashire clubrsquos system then but Jimmy wasnrsquot getting selected So my mom who knew people at Lancashire called one of the officials Though she is not one who normally interferes she felt that Jimmy was missing out and deserved a trial with the U16 team So she rang them up and requested them to have a look at him They took her advice and he got into the Lancashire lsquoBrsquo team Jimmy then went from the U16 to U18 made that leap and played in the U19 World Cup for England He added a yard to his pace each year and earned the nickname lsquoPro Killerrsquo rdquo says BrownAnderson also added swing to his armoury ldquoOnce he got to Lancashire at the age of 17 or 18 he started to come through He learnt a lot from Mike Watkinson former England cricketer who taught him how to grip the ball and get that late swingrdquo says BrownAt 36 as Anderson enters the last leg of his career Brown reveals what keeps him ticking ldquoHe remains very very motivated and his body is still good He still feels in control of his game He will be looking at 600 Test wickets currently on 575 If he helps England win The Ashes this year and also gets to that 600 mark there could be no better way to retirerdquo Brown concludes575No of wickets claimed by James Anderson in 148 Tests194No of ODIs played by Anderson in which he picked 269 wicketsCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates