Anderson's record in 10 Old Trafford Tests as England icon eyes elusive haul
James Anderson has been recalled by England as they hope to keep the Ashes alive with victory in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Anderson was dropped for the win at Headingley after two disappointing performances at Edgbaston and Lord's, which saw him pick up three wickets at an average of 75.33, but he is confident he can make an impact on his home ground bowling from the James Anderson end. "Looking back on the first two games of the series, I was too serious and too intense," he admitted in a column for the Telegraph.
"At Old Trafford I am going to go out with a smile on my face. The series is now alive and it has been amazing to be a part of it and I would love to get a chance to contribute again. It is something I have done for a number of years - turn up when the team need me and put in a performance that can impact a game."
Anderson's record at Old Trafford, 37 wickets at 22.02, is particularly impressive with Trent Bridge the only ground in England where he has taken more wickets at a lower average. However, the 40-year-old has never taken a Test match five-wicket haul on his home ground and will be desperate to get his name on the honours board this week.
With that in mind Mirror Sport has taken a look back at all 10 Test matches Anderson has played at Old Trafford.
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1. West Indies (2004)
Anderson's first Test appearance for England at Old Trafford came back in August 2004 and he picked up just one wicket in the match as England beat a Brian Lara led West Indies side by seven wickets.
It was just his tenth Test overall and Anderson was the fourth seamer in a formidable England attack that contained Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard. His sole wicket was that of West Indies keeper Carlton Baugh and he only bowled 16 overs in the games.
Anderson did end the series with seven wickets at 31.28 after taking 4-52 in the second innings of the fourth Test at Lord's, but he was very much still a work in progress in 2004.
2. New Zealand (2008)
It took almost four years for Anderson to play another Test at Old Trafford and things went slightly better for him in England's six wicket win over New Zealand in 2008.
With match figures of 5-139, Anderson and the rest of England's bowling attack spent more than six hours in the field as Ross Taylor's excellent unbeaten 154 guided New Zealand to a first innings lead of 179.
However, spinner Monty Panesar then came to the fore, taking 6-37 as the Kiwis were skittled for just 114 in their second innings and England comfortably chased down 294 to win, largely thanks to a century from Andrew Strauss.
Anderson took figures of 4-61 in the match as England beat Bangladesh at Old Trafford in 2010 (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)3. Bangladesh (2010)
Two years later, Anderson had a more significant impact in England's innings victory over Bangladesh as he picked up 4-61 in the match.
However, it was Graeme Swann, Steven Finn and Ian Bell who took the plaudits, with Bell scoring an excellent 128 and both Swann and Finn claiming five-wicket hauls. Anderson and Finn absolutely terrorised Bangladesh with the new ball after captain Strauss enforced the follow-on.
They quickly reduced the visitors to 37-5 and wrapped up a dominant win by an innings and 80 runs inside just two days. A 3-1 series win over Pakistan followed that summer, before England went on to make history over the winter by winning the Ashes Down Under for the first time in 24 years.
4. Australia (2013)
Before this week, Anderson had only ever played one Ashes Test on his home ground and that came almost a decade ago in 2013.
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He took 2-153 in that match, which ultimately ended as a draw with Swann the only England bowler to offer any real threat as Australia racked up 527-7 in their first innings. However, thanks to a Kevin Pietersen hundred in the first innings and then some rain as Australia pushed for victory after a declaration, England escaped with a draw.
The result meant they retained the Ashes, having already won the first two Tests, and they went on to wrap up a 3-0 victory and keep hold of the urn until they were brutally thrashed 5-0 by Australia over the winter.
Anderson celebrates dismissing Virat Kohli at Old Trafford in 2014 (Stu Forster/Getty Images)5. India (2014)
Although his efforts were overshadowed by Stuart Broad's 6-25 in the first innings and Moeen Ali's 4-39 in the second, Anderson was truly excellent in what was a dominant victory over India.
He picked up 5-63 in the match, notably dismissing Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja all for ducks. In fact, Anderson dismissed Kohli twice in this match, getting him caught at slip second ball in the first innings and then repeating the trick in the second innings after he had made seven.
Anderson well and truly got the better of Kohli on this tour, dismissing the Indian superstar four times in 50 deliveries. Kohli has since fared better against Anderson in more recent times and the pair have been involved in some enthralling battles over the years.
6. Pakistan (2016)
In another similarly impressive performance, Anderson took 4-68 as England thrashed Pakistan by 330 runs in 2016.
The match is mostly remembered for Joe Root's imperious 254 in the first innings, but Anderson and Chris Woakes led the way with the ball as Pakistan's entire team failed to make more runs than Root in either of their innings'.
With Pakistan set a steep chase of 565 to win, Anderson picked up the crucial early wickets of Shan Masood and Azhar Ali before returning to dismiss their last recognised batter in Asad Shafiq. The dismissal of Masood in the second innings was the sixth time in as many innings that Anderson had got him out and the opener was promptly dropped for the rest of the series.
Anderson's best Test figures at Old Trafford came against South Africa in 2017 (Stu Forster/Getty Images)7. South Africa (2017)
Unquestionably Anderson's greatest Test match performance at Old Trafford, he picked up 7-54 as England beat South Africa by 177 runs in 2017.
However, he was unable to get that elusive five-wicket haul, taking 4-91 in the first innings and 3-16 in the second. Moeen was the real star of the show, though, smashing an unbeaten 75 off 66 balls in England's second innings before taking a match winning 5-69.
Anderson did get the particularly crucial wicket of South Africa captain Faf du Plessis for 61 as the Proteas attempted to chase down 380, with his dismissal pretty much spelling the end of their hopes of winnning.
8. West Indies (2020)
The first of two Tests Anderson played at his home ground during the height of the pandemic due to the hotel facilities at Old Trafford making it easy to create a bio-secure environment, he took 2-46 in a win over the West Indies.
England beat the visitors by 269 runs to wrap up a 2-1 series win, with Anderson dismissing Shai Hope and Shamarh Brooks in the first innings. However, the Test will forever be remembered for the exploits of Anderson's long-time bowling partner Stuart Broad.
Broad took ten wickets in the match, along with smashing a quick-fire 62, as he became just the seventh bowler to take 500 Test wickets after Courtney Walsh, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Anil Kumble and Anderson himself.
Stuart Broad celebrates his 500th Test wicket alongside Anderson (MARTIN RICKETT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)9. Pakistan (2020)
The very next month, Anderson endured a much more difficult battle against Pakistan as he picked up just one wicket in the match.
It was his worst showing in a Test at Old Trafford since his first outing back in 2004, with Babar Azam his only victim. Even former bunny Masood got the better of him as he struck an impressive 156 in the first innings.
However, England were still able to win the Test by three wickets thanks to an excellent sixth wicket partnership worth 139 runs between Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes. England went on to win the three-match series 1-0.
10. South Africa (2022)
Last year, though, Anderson was back to his best at Old Trafford as he took 6-62 in an innings win over South Africa.
It was a brilliant performance from England, who bounced back from a humbling innings loss themselves in the first Test at Lord's in what was the first defeat suffered by 'Bazball'. Anderson set the tone with the new ball, picking up the very first wicket when he got opener Sarel Erwee caught behind for three and England proceeded to dominate the Test from that moment onwards.
Stokes and Ben Foakes both scored hundreds, while Anderson took almost identical figures of 3-32 and 3-30 in South Africa's two innings. Perhaps the most impressive statistic, though, is the fact that the 40-year-old has never lost a Test match at Old Trafford with England winning nine and drawing once with him in the side. A good omen for later this week perhaps?
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