Cricket legend James Anderson: ‘It doesn’t get better than winning the Ashes in Australia’

James ‘Jimmy’ Anderson was born in Burnley in July 1982. He made his first-class cricket debut for Lancashire at the age of 19, his one day international debut at 20 and went on to become England’s most successful cricket bowler of all time. Anderson holds the record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket (704) and third most wickets in cricket history (991).

Anderson co-hosts popular podcast Tailenders for BBC Radio 5 Live alongside writer and musician Felix White and BBC Radio One’s Greg James. He is an ambassador for Nordoff Robbins, The James Milner Foundation and the LCCC Foundation. In April 2025, Anderson was knighted “for services to cricket”.

In his Letter to My Younger Self, James Anderson looks back at the importance of cricket in building his confidence, advice from captains and the birth of his daughter.

When I think about being 16, I immediately think of exams. It was GCSE year and I didn’t know what was coming next. But I’d had a big growth spurt around 15 and that’s when it started to look like I could actually make a career in cricket. So, although I was still unsure what the future held,  was becoming more and more hopeful that cricket could be a big part of my future.

School was not great for me. I just didn’t really fit in. I was short and skinny and – I don’t know what the word is – unnoticeable or anonymous, maybe? So school was a real struggle. I didn’t make any close friends and I didn’t connect with anyone. I don’t have any friends from school now. So I tried to get my head down and get on with the work and do as well as I could – but I was constantly looking out of the window and looking forward to playing football or cricket. And, once cricket became the one, all I could think about was playing for Lancashire and England.

I was so lucky I had Burnley Cricket Club. That was where I connected with people. It’s a huge sporting town. Football’s massive. I don’t know what the population of Burnley is, around 100,000, maybe less, but they get 22,000 watching the football. My dad played for the local cricket club, which is next to the football ground, and I’d watch him from when I was young. As I got into my teens, having a love of sport in common helped me make some good friendships. 

The only thing for me outside of sport was music. I would go around to my friend’s house most weekends where a big group of us would listen to her dad’s vinyl, which was mainly indie music from the 1990s. That’s something we connected over and created bonds over. I remember going to my first gig at 16. We saw James in Manchester, which was incredible.

Cricket took over when I started doing A-Levels. I was playing three-day matches for Lancashire Second XI from Tuesday to Thursday, so it’s difficult to mix school with that. But my school was amazing in facilitating it. I tried my best to do the schoolwork. English was the only subject I enjoyed and was good at, so I thought I could combine my love of sport and ability at English to do sports journalism if cricket didn’t pan out. But I constantly  had my fingers crossed that cricket would be my future. 

I was very shy and very quiet. I’d watch a lot. I’d sit in the corner, try to get a feel for what was acceptable. My younger self wouldn’t believe the confidence I have now. I’m not talking about playing sport, just being able to hold conversations or speak up in a large group. Playing for a club team, you’re in a dressing room with older guys from a young age. I would listen and take advice. And going out after a match with guys in their mid-20s even makes you feel more mature and experienced. So I was becoming a bit worldly wise. But I never thought that 16-year-old would turn into someone as confident as I feel now. 

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I never felt any pressure as a kid. My parents were brilliant – they gave me the opportunities to play all these sports and never put any pressure on me. When I started playing for the Lancashire teams at 15, I needed them to drive me everywhere. My dad would take days off work. I couldn’t have done this without all their sacrifices. 

When I was a teenager, Test cricket was on terrestrial TV all summer. That was a huge part of my life. I wanted to emulate people I’d see on the TV. I was hooked on the battle between Allan Donald and Mike Atherton [in 1998]. I wanted to be that bowler who looks so intimidating with zinc sunscreen on his face. I’d copy him, bowling at the garage door.

I was lucky to get a taste of international cricket when there was no expectation on me. I came into a team that had a lot of injuries and England weren’t great. I figured it might last three games or three months, so my approach was to enjoy it while I’m here. That helped me relax and play well. I’m proud of how I approached that point of my life – I’d have loved to have kept that mentality for the next part of my career, when I put too much pressure on myself, felt the weight of expectation on me, and listened to all the criticism. I searched for perfection – and it took me a while to figure out that’s not a thing. 

When I got married and became a dad, it put everything in perspective. For a long time, cricket had been all I had and all I thought about. I was lucky I met my wife so early. We met when I was 22, I was married at 24 and we had kids at 26. So it all happened quite quickly. Having a different life to escape to, where rather than just being a cricketer I am a husband and father was so important. It helped me mature and become less selfish. It also gave me a different outlook: I’m not just playing cricket because I love it, I’m providing for my family. 

My dad would never let me win at anything. I think that built my competitive edge, but I’ve gone the opposite way with my kids. Every now and then I let my kids win a board game or at tennis, although it’s really difficult for me! What I have taken from my dad is trying to give my kids the opportunity to try everything so they can find something they love. 

I was lucky to play under such brilliant captains for England. Nasser Hussain was strong in his opinions and direct in his messaging – about what was expected from us, how to behave, how to train, which really helped me starting out. When we got to number one in the world, Andrew Strauss understood the way I bowl and knew how to get the best out of me. Later, Ben Stokes was great at thinking outside the box and really empathetic. He knows when to give you a kick up the backside and when to put an arm round your shoulder. 

If you told my 16-year-old self I’d still be playing professional cricket at 42, that would have blown his mind. But the idea of doing something I love for such a long time would have filled him with so much excitement. I feel so fortunate to still have the love for the game when a lot of sportspeople struggle physically or with the media and pressure and fall out of love with their sport. 

If I could relive one day from my life, it would be the birth of my first daughter – and not just because it was a life-changing moment. My wife had no pain relief for either child, which still blows my mind. We were in the delivery room with a curtain pulled around us and she was in pain and screaming a lot… and I shushed her! So if I could go back and relive one day, it would be that one – and I would NOT do that again. I don’t know what came over me. It was a huge error on my part. 

But if I could go back to a day from my cricket career it would be when we won the Ashes in Australia in 2011. The Barmy Army was singing, I got a couple of wickets on the last day in Sydney, then we sat on the outfield, had a beer and had an impromptu team chat with everyone sharing favourite moments from the tour. I remember thinking, it doesn’t get any better than this: you’re playing for England at the SCG, one of the best grounds in the world, you’ve just taken a load of wickets and beaten Australia. This is incredible. 

What else would I say to my younger self? Just enjoy every minute of your career, because it goes so fast. I was lucky. My international cricket career was a long one. But I would still tell my younger self to treasure every second, because, before you know it, it’s gone.

An Evening with Jimmy Anderson – in conversation with Felix White tours England from 4 September.

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