Test Match Special - James Anderson: Gone well

Episode Date: July 13, 2024

Jonathan Agnew speaks to Michael Anderson, Jimmy’s father, to learn more about the legendary bowler away from the cricket pitch. They discuss him developing as a youngster at Lancashire, playing snooker, and when the family began to believe Jimmy could make it as a professional cricketer.Plus, Anderson’s Tailenders co-hosts Greg James, Felix White, and Matt Horan (Mattchin). They talk about the alternative side to Anderson, as well as the “fierce competitor” mode that he sometimes brings to a podcast recording. Also, Mattchin brings up the story of Jimmy’s alter ego ‘Timmy Banderson’.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Bring more gear, carry more passengers, face greater challenges. Welcome to the world of Defender, with seating up to eight, ample cargo space and legendary off-road capability. It's built to make the most of every adventure. Learn more at landrover.ca. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. You're listening to the TMS Podcasts. from BBC Radio 5 Live Hello I'm Jonathan Agnew

Welcome to the Test Match Special podcast Jimmy Anderson has bid farewell to England but in this bonus pod We're going to learn more about him away from the pitch To come we'll hear from his fellow tail enders podcast hosts Greg James Felix White And Matt Horan, better know his match in Tendulka But first his dad Michael

Join me in the TMS Comedy Box at Lords You're listening to the TMS podcast From BBC Radio 5 live Who knows Jimmy better than his father, of course. And it's lovely to see you again, Mike. I think it's a second or third time who've come into Seaton Radio. Yeah, I think it's second time.

I think the first time was in Grenada. He passed another record there. He'd just gone past Botham's record. Yeah. And yes. So we had a nice little chat over to here, I think, didn't we? We did. And there were still years ahead of him, but now...

Yeah. It's, yes, it's a very strange week and emotional sort of week. Yeah, it's... it's going to be difficult obviously it's going to be difficult for him but we've sort of spent the last 21 years planning our summers around cricket and test matches

and so yeah it's everything's going to change no I mean and it's easy to overlook that actually the fact that I mean I know as Stuart's family very well and then we went through that last summer and it's easy to forget that all those who are the support and have been part of the life

it brings the curve and down on that as well that's it we've we've met so many wonderful families and you know we've we sat there with the the roots this week and um Ollie Polk's mom and dad are there um obviously Carolyn Nick Stewart and Chris um so yeah we're hopefully we're going to keep in touch with all them and we'll still meet up a case now I would have thought um unfortunately uh the best air stores out here this week which is a shame

but yeah it has been incredible for us to meet all those people I guess you knew it was kind of on the card if not this match but one not too far down the line

yeah it's had to end eventually didn't it you know and he's 42 this month so it's ridiculous for a fastballer to sort of keep going until that sort of age is just, well, it's unheard of really, isn't it?

Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, the thing is, he still looks fit. He still enjoys it, so. But, yeah, I think it needed someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, you know, maybe you've done enough. Yeah. How did you feel when you found out that that was it? Again, mixed emotions, really. it was, yeah, it's

not particularly unexpected, but it's still I don't know, in the selfish way you don't want it to end but yeah, it's nobody can take away what what is achieved. Does it feel like a celebration? Are you in a box or something over there?

There was talking to you all getting together and being together and something. Are you celebrating this or is it? Is it just an overwhelming sadness? No, absolutely, we're celebrating it. We're in the mound stand with the other families. And, yeah, it is a week of celebration, really. You know, if somebody plays 188 tests and takes 700 wickets,

you've got to celebrate, haven't you? Yeah, yeah. How do you think he's taking it? I sat down with him on Monday. It was really interesting to him talking about bowling, actually. But he was determined. You know what Jim is like? Determined he's not going to show any emotion.

He said, no, I'm not going to stand there blubbing at the end of my mark as his head. But you sort of felt that when he said it, actually, there's a chance that he might just feel it a bit and have a tear. Yeah, I think you can see in his face sometimes. There's definitely the emotion there. We stood there ringing the bell yesterday morning. His girls were ringing the bell, and you could see him look up. Definitely. There was definitely a bit of a lump in his throat, I think, when he saw the girls doing that.

so yeah it is going to be an emotional time for him as well is he shy I mean chronic people tell me of myself almost chronically shy is he is he I don't think so no I think yes he is he probably is but it's when he's at home with the family and the kids he's just a normal guy

yes yeah and that sort of the grumpy side that you see sometimes as well is that inherited Michael it's probably from his mother's side yeah she's here you better watch out I know yeah I suppose what it does though there is that emotion that makes him

a great fast bowler I mean you've got to be able to get yourself angry and fired up and because it's a painful business yes yeah oh definitely yeah I think he's to keep going for as long as he has done you've got to have something inside you that makes you go out and do do the training

do the others in the nets so yeah you've got to have that fire in your belly to be able to do that he's always been incredibly focused isn't he I mean he knows what he has to do those hours he spent bowling by himself in the net to just try and perfect things is that something you can trace all the way back

to the very early days of childhood? Well, yes. Yeah, I can remember every day when I used to get home from work, he'd be stood in the back garden with his bat and say, come on, Dad, bowl to me. That didn't necessarily help very much, isn't it? Well, sorry, no. Where did he stop bowling?

He always, I mean, his action when he was young was always very similar to his action now. And he just wanted to play. He'd play any sport. He'd play football, darts, cricket, golf. Snooker, he loved his snooker. But any sport, any ball game, he was just desperate to play. Yeah.

And you bowled, you played? I bowled a little bit of dibbley-dobbly, yeah. It's probably rather better than that. But did he come and watch you and he'd be playing on the outfield? while you were playing in time? Yes, he did. I mainly played for the second team at Burnley, so I used to come down and watch the second team.

When he was old enough, he used to score for the second team. So he was always around the ground, and he's got two of his good friends from Burnley here this week as well, David and Gareth. And they've sort of been together for 30-odd years, and the love of cricket has always been there. And when did you think, hang on

he's got something because I mean all proud parents think that the kids are great at everything but when did you think actually hang on this James is going to be all right

he's really got something I've been asked that question quite a lot and it's very difficult to put a finger on it I know he certainly when he was sort of 16

17 he had a real growth spurt and he went into winter nets and he put on a couple of yards of pace and there were guys there that, Teney Mall the year before. That was at Burnley, the winter. At Burnley, rented out.

So still in club clubs? Still club cricket, yeah. And there were guys sort of saying, because it was one of the sort of artificial surfaces and really hard and bouncing and the guys saying, no, I don't fancy going in and playing against this. But yeah, I mean, as far as

sort of playing at this level is concerned it's very difficult to say when he when he sort of when we sort of felt that he was good enough to play at this level yeah and who spot who picked him up lancashire just what word got to lancashire yeah well he was he played for the under 15s b team at lancash he didn't play in any any juney sides before the under 15s b and then he played for the under 17s um and it was Jim Kenyon and John Stanwith that were the coaches running the under 17s team at Lanks. And he just sort of progressed through the junior size from there. He played for the under 19s.

He played for the England under 19s. And then I think he got his contracts at Lanks when he was 18. It was Bobby Simpson that signed him on at Lanks. Yeah, and everything just progressed from there. I think he was at his most frustrated when he went through that period of, I mean, now, going back those years, there'd be cones, all set up, like the M25, and poor old Jimmy would come out. He hardly played a game, and he'd be out there bowling,

and they're trying to sort out his bowling action. I remember sitting with him at a bar somewhere on tour, and he was kind of really low with it all. Can you go back to that time, and did it frustrate you as well watching that? It did, absolutely, yes. As you said, I mean, we've been on trips to, I think we went to South Africa, to Cape Town he didn't play there

and we just sort of went round to the nets at lunchtime and just watched him bowling in the nets so destroying really yeah but if you I think he still believed in himself

and believed that he had the ability to to play at that level and wanted to work on his game and just worked really hard getting himself fit and getting the action right and learning different

delivery but yeah it's difficult to to watch him do that favourite bit for you what are you going to take away when you when you drive away from here or whatever it might be tomorrow could be yeah and you look back on it and the curtain's been closed

what would be your really special I really think there's so many 21 years it's very difficult to put a finger on it the first time I signed play for England was in the World Cup at Cape town against Pakistan.

When he took, yes, he had four for 29 I think and man of the match and that was a very special occasion. I had my dad with me at that game and my brother and nephew and that was

an amazing experience. I think the other one that stands out was the Ashes test at Trent Bridge. That's one he picks out, isn't it? Yes. Which for me Ten wickets. Yeah.

And the final wicket. I think they were about 14. 14 and short. A little inside nick. Yes. Which the umpire didn't give. And I think they used hotspot at the time, didn't they? And it was just a little hotspot on the...

It was Haddon, wasn't it? Yes. Yeah. That was a... I think he said he sort of... He looked heading in the eye and did you nick it. And you? Yeah.

Well, Michael, thank you for going to see this. pleasure i don't know it must be so mixed for you celebration on the one hand and then kind of the end of a end of an ear on the other yes we i remember sitting at this very box his first game all these years ago running in and bowling up in Zimbabwe yes my gathered and got a bit of a contest as to how many live wickets we've seen

and i think he's just seen more than me which is incredibly frustrating but around the 670 areas i think right we've been we've been there that's more than us well there you're i've loved watching embold Thank you, Michael, very much for coming. Absolutely, pleasure. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. So, when you get a very different insight into Jimmy Anderson,

when he listened to him on the Tail Enders podcast on BBC Sounds, he does that with the Radio One Breakfast presenter, Greg James, musician Felix White and Matt Horan, better known as Matchen Tandulka, of course, because of his somewhat distant relationship to the Great Satchin. And Matchin spoke with Jimmy for a special edition of Tail Enders ahead of his final test. and started by going right back.

Let's start at the beginning. Your formative years with Burnley. Now, I've done some research. I've delved deep. In the pre-season, 98-99, yeah, with Burnley in the Nets, I've spoken to similar teammates there. They said there was,

in that first session in that season, you suddenly could bowl 50 miles per hour faster, yeah? All of a sudden, And that first boy, he said that first boy you delivered in the same style as the ones as your hat trick in the World Cup. Do you remember that feeling of suddenly this is taking that up a level? A bit like, you know, when Team Wolf recognizes he's got the powers or Spider-Man, find that you just saw this is a bit of a game. Was there like a wow moment? Like, oh my God, this is going to change the game.

I do remember being able to bowl quicker. I don't remember like the specific moment that happened. But like, I remember before that I was like, oh, okay. Okay, at batting, okay at bowling. How old had you been then? Like 14. Yeah. And then 15, I came back to winter preseason nets.

And it was in a school in Blackburn, and it was, the surface was like rock hard. It's like a wooden floor. Might have had a like a mat on it. And yeah, it was coming out a lot quicker. And I don't really know why or how that happened. But yeah, it did. But it was like a sudden moment. You're like, oh, this.

Yeah. Like, I was hurrying up players that, like, some of the best players in the first team at Burnley. And I remember my best mate, David Brown, his dad, Peter. I can't remember what shot he played, but I remember the bat breaking. And I broke a couple of bats at winter. And I think, obviously, I felt horrific because I was a young lad breaking these old lads bats. But yeah, I felt like something different had happened.

Yeah. But I can't put my finger on why. It's weird. Yeah. But it is like getting a super power. The people in the team must have been like, oh my God, have you seen, he's gone up a level. This is going to change things.

Yeah, I definitely got the impression everyone was, it excited people. Like, I remember the captain at the time when we played, he'd just be like, just bowl as fast as you can. And I, because it was such a change in pace, and my body was still developing, I was still, like, growing. You know, just, I didn't really know where it was going. So I bowed, I did bowl the old beamer. I beamed Brad Hodg, who's Australian batter, who was playing for Ramsbottom, beamed him and he sort of punched it off his face. I can't repeat what he said.

I was so apologetic. I was like, I'm so sorry. Like, I just don't know where it's going. And he was like, fuck off your little bit. A couple of other memories from that. Like, I played at Burnley and the first over of the game,

I bowled like four wides in a row. And I'm like, oh my God, this is painful. And then the next ball just went straight through the batter and bowled him. So that's how it sort of went for me. It was like a bit inconsistent and erratic, but then when you did, Yeah. Amazing. So I've been doing some research. Back on the streets of Burnley, right? Take you back to that day. It's a big moment for you. You've passed your test. You've got your first Viet Bravo, okay? You go and visit your mate at university. Get into an argument and you have to go and sleep in your Fiat Bravo. And you have to use towels as a makeshift curtains to stop the morning dawn from coming in. Tell me about that moment.

that's a random question and a slightly different route and I thought this interview would take yeah I used to go my mate went to Durham University so I went to see him a few times while he was there you know we just go and have a night out or whatever and catch up so the situation was there was one bed in his one spare bed in his dorm or whatever it was that he where he stayed

and there's two of us that went up two mates went up So there's three of us all together. My other mate took the bed. He got back before me and took the bed. So I tried to kick him out. And he was like, just sleep on the floor. I'm asleep. I'm not moving.

I'm not moving. So then I stormed out and slept in my car. Put towels up. It doesn't sound as bad as you've made out of there. But you put towels up. I did, yeah. Made little shelter. Yeah.

I'm not a psychologist, but in many ways you could say, as your star has risen, you've kept those towels up to protect you. the glare of the media spotlight. Okay. We will move on from the freight bravo, but before I do,

you pass your test shortly after that, you've totaled it, going over a bollard too fast in a Woolworth's car park, is that correct? I don't remember that. No, I have got that confirmed because I was going to say, you don't remember a totaling in the car?

Who confirmed that? I've not... I'm not going to remember one. Not revealing your sources. It was gas. I think I did go over a bollard in Woolworth Scarport, but I don't think it was written off. I always told it was written off

because I was going to say in many ways the Woolworth bollard was a metaphorical father figure teaching you to slow down before life was about to get very fast. Brilliant. Do cry. Will all these questions have a metaphorical ending? Yes, they were. There we go.

You hear more of that. Tail End is on BBC Sounds and, as promised. Matt is here alongside Greg James and Felix White. And it's lovely to have you all here. Just the alternative, Jimmy, really, because we see him the player. I'm lucky enough to, like you, Matt, let's sit down and interview him. Slightly different angle on the interview. I was talking a bit of technique and wobble scene.

That was slightly wider on the crease. It was wider the crease. But then that's the point of our chat. Different styles for different journalists. Exactly the point. So, I mean, there are two sides to Jimmy. I mean, we up here see the competitor, you know, and only every now and then to get to see him in a bar or something on tour.

You, I mean, every week, more or less, team up for this regionally successful podcast that we're very jealous of, and you see a different side. So, come on, let's hear about your experiences of Jimmy then, working with him. We get both, I think. I think we do get both. We sometimes get the fierce competitor on the podcast, and that is quite daunting.

and it's difficult to deal with sometimes. He feels like he's... It feels like he's really testing your technique in a podcast sense. Nice cricket analogy. Especially during a series, if it's not going that well, then it's quite tricky to know how to talk to him about it because he won't want to talk about it too much. He'll want to talk about something else.

So we get two jimmies as well. But the best Jimmy actually is the between series or between tests. He tends to really... I think he just loves doing the podcast. like he likes sitting around talking about cricket. It doesn't necessarily like talking about himself. I think that's the thing, isn't it? He doesn't like talking about himself,

and he doesn't really like to admit how great he is. Yes. I tell you what the beautiful thing about Jimmy's being with listeners, is that Jimmy's obviously, I mean, give or take, the greatest symbol that's ever lived. And a lot of the listeners play cricket at a much lower level or not at all, but cricket runs in the imagination, doesn't it?

So when Jimmy says something like, when I walk over the cracks in the street, if I walk over a pavement slab, I'll think no ball, if my foot slightly over. the line, that kind of thing. Is that what he said? You know, so cricket runs in imagination the same way if you've taken 700 os test wickets

as if you haven't, you know, taking any club wickets at all. So, like, that's the beautiful thing about Jimmy's, but it's sort of everydayness shines through on Tearlanders. He's still very competitive, isn't he? Oh, my God. We played quizzes on the podcast.

He's very competitive. We've played Scrabble before in the pub. And you take it. I don't want to talk about Scrabble. That's too much. Yeah. You never get into a game of darts with Jimmy.

Never do anything. competitive really because he will want to be the best and beat everybody at it but he must be an interesting choice because i again the sort of the reserved side of of jimmy he doesn't strike one as being sort of an entertainer really that's the point but that's the point you've seen that or you bring it out of him anyway he's very funny jimmy is really funny i mean he's he's steward next door we'll say no he's not he's not funny at all i think jimmy's funnier than broadie I would agree. More wickets and more funny.

More wickets and more laughs. That's the Jimmy difference. Shut that loud. Actually, the thing with Jimmy is full credit to Jimmy for really creating Tail Lenders because he was the one back in 2011 alongside Swanee that wanted to do a cricket show on the radio. And that's how we met. So him and Swanee approached me to do a show called Not Just Cricket. They listened to Radio One and they knew that I liked cricket a lot.

So I talk about it all the time. and that was how it started and then that show sort of faded a little bit and then it came back as tailender so really Jimmy was the one that wanted to do it when he does love he loves talking about cricket he's as we know he's

very really really funny most of the stuff in the tailender's WhatsApp group is him sending us Alan Partridge memes or stuff from the office or like he's a very very funny man also on the live shows if you ever get chance to go to the live show he dresses up he'll do character

oh yes do you know about his auto ego No, tell us about him Are we about to let Once this is said This is never unsaid On TMS No one's listening No one's listening

Say what you're like So Andor's box is about to be opened Jimmy Anderson Hmm Matching Once came in and said What if

Jimmy Anderson was a young bowler now Maybe 19 And bowling the way he was Would we feel the way about him As we do now And you created the character I said Basically people were giving him

a hard time after he had a bad and not a good as test yes and I said but look at his economy yes yeah if there was a young bowler of a 19 year that had that same economy maybe wasn't getting the wickets people would be falling over themselves what's the young bowler called

I said imagine there was a young bowler called Timmy Bandeson right who had that same record over the last 12 months there I think about a year ago people would be going over the moon with it yes so we cut to one show into the tailender's autumn tour

last year we were in a pub in Oxford the Rosen Crown, one of the great pubs of all time and we had to try and persuade Jimmy Bandererty to become Timmy Bandersettison on stage right so in the 19 year old Timmy Banderer exactly in that moment he'd had a few beers

quite a few beers yeah he'd bumped into Martin Keone yeah I don't know how that happened it's quite a strange night and he said I'll do it then because we said oh my god you should be

Timmy Banderson tomorrow let's do Timie Banderson tomorrow on stage also because we didn't have a special guest for that day

so we needed a special guest needed a guest there was a creative reason we needed him to do that and the next day he said I'm not doing that I'm not doing that and then I took him

around the charity shops of Oxford found a well Timmy Bandson's outfit which is essentially sort of Gen Z outfit and a skateboard backwards cap skateboard

big big sort of drapey shirt and that night after a lot of of convincing from all of us he took to the stage and I've never heard of Roar like it that, that wicket yesterday that he took. Nothing. That was a quarter of the level of the crowd

reaction from live on stage in front of 3,000 people that happened with American accent. Yeah, that's what we can't work out. He's American for some reason and Timmy invented that, didn't he? Yeah, and then Jimmy took this whole thing on and actually when he had the... This is genuine. When he

felt that reaction from the crowd and realized how he was in on the joke and everyone was in on the joke and this 41-year-old man was pretending to be a 20-year-old American cricketer called Jimmy Banderson. He realized, I'm just going to go for it now because he realized how much people love him

doing that sort of thing. And I think that is what Jimmy's like, really. He is, a lot of people say he's shy, and he is. But I think it's mainly because he's trying to work out, he's trying to work people out. And if you know him, and you're lucky enough to get to know him, and he lets you into that world, then he's not shy at all.

Like he's, you know, he really, he is really fun and loves having a nice time. How's his music, Felix? Because I remember one of the ones I was wrong with you, we were talking about some sort of chord that he was learning of the guitar, isn't he? This is Jimmy now, not Timmy. That's what, yeah, thank you for clarifying. Although Timmy would be a bedroom musician. Yeah, but Timmy, Timmy's more into sort of drum and bass stuff,

you know what I mean, much younger. Jimmy's more into older rock and roll music. That's true, yeah. So we invented Jimmy Anderson Chord, which is Jimmy's favorite chord, but no one's allowed to know what that chord actually is. What I tell you is on a serious point, though, about Jimmy and music is that I find it really interesting is that when I play music, we play gigs live, Jimmy's always fascinated about how the sound works. So whereas Greg and Matching might want to talk about records or how it makes them feel,

Jimmy will need to sit down with me and ask how the sound gets from the guitar, through the pedalboard, into the amps, into the speakers, how it technically works. The real technical stuff. And I always feel like always feel like to give way to Jimmy's character because that's sort of, sort of like he needs to know exactly how it all works. It's a bit like his bowling, do you know what I mean? That curiosity putting all the bits together. Yeah, the curiosity

feeds in beyond cricket itself so I always thought that was a tell to like how he's managed to do this for 20 years actually and always evolve. Is he musical? I mean this is Jimmy Anderson's mysterious chord? Is he musical? You can play wonderful. A hesitation would suggest no. I'll begin to think no at this stage.

He can sing okay. He can sing. He's a bit like, I don't know if you heard Johnny Cash in the later years when he's singing quite monotone but there is a lot of force of personality and character in the voice

I would say Jimmy is that sort of vocalist and he does give it to be fair we started the shows on the last tour with a spotlight on Jimmy and just guitar

and him just quite clattering a chord and the place goes wild didn't sound great but it looked great and if we ever find out what this chord is a way is that one could ever know

the Jimmy Anderson chord ever closely guarded secret yeah because so what makes it different from what makes it unique that's that's a big that's a big existential question about jimmy he's what makes him great exactly so many things i think you're misreading the point here because it's about it's about jimmy it's about the myth of jimmy how do we know jimmy and so if you put that into a chord we can never know the chord yeah how can we know jimmy if you ever heard it because you you would be able to identify yeah i've actually come out of the course and it changes all the time so

it's a horrible voice oh dear what's he gonna do what are you gonna do with him I mean are you gonna are you still gonna this tail ender's gonna go on and not on with it yeah of course he's gonna keep going

yeah yeah I think you know what the thing that Jimmy's always said but I loved about it is that after he retires he'll still bowl just to see the ball do what it does because it's such a beautiful feeling seeing it leave his hand and move so I mean that might be

not even for Lancashire it might be in club I don't know what it is but you see him play play Can you actually see him going and playing club cricket? I think he loves cricket enough, doesn't he, to do it? Yeah. I don't know, you have to ask him. I've club bats when hitting him for four and stuff.

We heard unconfirmed reports that at Southport, when it was quite cold, he stayed in the dressing room for two days and didn't want to see it. He didn't want to see anybody. There were kids outside going, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. Really? I'm going to have an outgo. What do you think, Haggers? Where do you think, where do you think it lies for Jim?

I really hope that he stayed in the game. He will. He can't not. No, I don't think he cannot either. And I think, I was talking this on that, on Monday with him about it, my experience of coaches are that the really naturally talented players are not actually good coaches because they can't really put it into words. Right.

Whereas he's worked so hard, the mechanics of his bowling, he has done himself, you know, he hasn't just picked a ball up and been able to do it, like so many, sorry, and both of them, for instance, just picked a ball up and bowl, and my old coach, Ken Higgs, find it hard to put it into words. was Jimmy I think will and he might not be putting into great long flowery paragraphs but I think in terms of showing somebody how to bowl

I think I think he'd be brilliant at it. I think the other thing about Jimmy is that he knows when to turn the ego on and off and actually when he's not got the ball in his hand and he's trying to get the batter out the ego is put to the side really successfully and he would have taken just as much joy himself getting wickets yesterday as Gus Atkinson got wickets yesterday

because him being around Gus would have helped Gus massively and I think he loves he does like seeing other people do well and he really wouldn't mind it was the same with that's why him and Stuart Brawlberg so well because they actually liked seeing each other yeah success yeah take wickets so I think you're right

he won't want to leave the game and shouldn't do because he has got so much to offer he does he inspires you know he should inspire everybody in some way the strive to get better to as you get older to maybe get fitter to still play cricket to pick up a bat and pick up a board

and go and play. I think that's, he's definitely communicating that passion for the game through tail enders and other things. And we have seen lots of people saying, oh, do you know what? I'm inspired by this guy. I don't want to go out and play. So he will be invaluable to that dressing room as the bowling consultant. I thought what he's quite short

that is. But I think he make a really good point because he, well, there are people I would have known with Shane Warren's record eight wickets away, nine to beat it. I know. Some would have said, I'm going to go out, I'm going to determine to be that record. All he said he wants to do was, I just want to take a catch or something.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He didn't say any more than that. And talking about the aesthetics of cricket in a little bit, like it struck me yesterday how sad it is we won't see Jimmy running like that and how iconic and beautiful it is when Jimmy runs in, when he's on that rhythm where it feels like his feet aren't even touching the ground and that coil,

that like natural, like that is the archetype scene bowlers delivery. There won't be a more beautiful action. I don't think we'll ever see in test cricket. And the other thing is that when he leaves, a type of test cricket leaves with him, You know, we're probably not going to see a bowl that has a career like Jimmy in test cricket again. So there's a deeper sadness, you know, underneath all of this, which Jimmy takes with him. Like he takes an essence of cricket with him as he goes, which makes it very poignant this week.

Do you just treat him as just one of you lot, or are you a bit kind of, because you all love cricket? Yeah. Are you a bit an Iraqi with him or who's, you try to be? When we're allowed to be? And he sometimes hates it. It's very, very volatile sometimes with that. Sometimes he will really go in and we can just be cricket badges together. It's a difficult read. It's a very difficult read.

Again, much like the bowler, it's very difficult to read. And that's fine. But the one thing I will say is that we are so happy that we have more time to do more tell-in his episodes now. And he'll be less grumpy more of the time. And he might be more opinionated about other cricketers as well, which will be interesting, won't it? It will be, yeah. What he said somewhere sometime was that you three reignited his love. of cricket.

More me, I'd say. But that's a big statement to come from something like Jim Anderson. He loves being with you three. Well, I think it's also, that is a nice thing. And we all feel the same in different ways. Our real friendship has helped us love this game and fall in love with it in different ways.

But also him being exposed to radio, which, you know, Agers, is the greatest medium ever. Easily. That there's a real intimacy that he now has with people that are emailing in. and they treat him as Jimmy, the great bowler, but also when they see him, they know all the extra things about him.

I think he really loves that. It's brought him closer to his fans and England fans and that he understands a bit more through their eyes what they're watching him do. And it's helped him, I think, just hold on to that love of cricket from that first time that he played alongside his dad to now. That's why he doesn't care about the records too much

because he just loves. playing cricket, whatever level it is. So I think he's still, I probably think he still feels like that 16 year old boy playing for the seconds. Yeah. And he has become easier. I mean, no doubt again for the work of you've heard, more more sort of media savvy and

and an easier, I media trained him some years ago now. Yeah. Called him in the room. What a dreadful job you did. It was, I think, I did fail. They played a tape of Mark Nicholas interviewing Jimmy here at Lords. Yeah. Pull down over his eyes.

Yeah. And he gave monosyllabic answers to about 30 questions. Poor Mark, I'm sorry for him. And the tape stop. I said, Jimmy, do you remember that day, Lords? He said, do you? I said, you've just taken five wickets. He'd look at you.

He didn't really seem to care. No, but he's still the same, though. Even the night before the test, I called him and went, everything right, and went, yeah, yeah, I've been right. He is, but also to count to the point quickly, I think some of the most beautiful emotional moments in cricket pitch in last 20 years we've seen from Jimmy, so it's flashing in my eyes now, the Sri Lanka game

when he ended up crying in tears because we've lost that. carrying my own alley at the other end. And I think that ability to show that emotion actually gave me great affinity before I knew Jimmy with that team. So I think we'd give him a disservice sometimes and he really does show visceral emotion. Yeah. I thought he was teary yesterday when the kids rang the bell.

The camera went on him. I thought, ooh. Definitely. Also I think he was quite tense. Bowling the first couple of overs, you're going to be tense, aren't you? Because this is a human with feelings. And he's just seen his whole family up on the balcony

ringing the bell. he's got to then open the bowling in his last test. It's all a bit too much. I hope that in the second innings he relaxes and can get some wicket. It felt like to me is like when you don't want a birthday and someone's organised a surprise birthday, and you're like, no, I really didn't want for birthday. That's what it felt like on his face yesterday morning.

It's very difficult to buy for. Yeah, exactly. Or do you buy the man who's got everything? Well, we have. And this is next tell Lenders to find out what. This is, yeah. One of Monopoly board. Don't say one.

Oh, yeah. They're supposed to be a teaser. He's like a girl listening, is he? He might be listening with his little earpiece. I think it's unlikely. I think it's unlikely. Thanks to Greg and Felix for joining me, and if you want to hear more about Jimmy Anderson,

well, I sat down with him to discuss the art of fast bowling, which is available to listen to on BBC Sounds right now. And while you're there, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any episodes. And you can also find episodes of Tail Enders on BBC Sounds.