India vs England: By leaving Anderson out of first Test, visitors are disregarding an ageless genius who has enjoyed success in the country in the past

Stokes sees it this way: Mark Wood’s pace could make the difference. The 90-mph thunderbolts could blast stumps, batter morale, and provoke fear. Stokes would patiently explain: “When you go with one seamer, you look at the impact you want out of that seamer. What Woody brings with his high pace, he is a real impact bowler if we can get the ball swinging, him bowling in the 90s mph with a reverse-swinging ball will be very difficult to play against.”

All of these are true. When his body holds up, Wood is a fearsome proposition, capable of shivering speed, can make the nature of surfaces irrelevant, and was one of the chief architects of the series win in Pakistan. He has the gift that Anderson does not possess — the gift of speed, which even peak Anderson did not possess. With fast bowlers likely to be used in short, snappy bursts, Wood could be a handful, and he embodies the gung-ho-ism of England. And what better hour to make a statement than before the first Test.

Anderson in action during the 2023 Ashes. (Reuters)

Stokes, though, was quick to clarify: “I don’t necessarily think it’s bold or brave, it’s just me and Baz [coach McCullum] looking at the wicket and picking the XI that we think will give us the best chance.”

Going against pedigree

But in omitting Anderson — difficult as the decision might have been, or maybe not — they have disregarded the worth of an ageless genius with colossal experience, who has been a shining light in the brightest of England’s hours in this country. The wobble-seam destruction in Chennai, the reverse-swing masterclass in Kolkata, the conventional-swing treat in Mumbai (2006) are but a few instances of Anderson shaping and swinging the match to his will. India is no place for medium-pace swing bowlers, but his numbers, 34 wickets at 29 in 13 Tests, though not golden, are glittering., instructive of his willingness to add more layers to his craft, and harness wisdom from experience.

From the painful lessons of 2008, he chiseled his reverse-swinging art and produced a vital cutting edge in England’s series-winning cause in 2012. From the setbacks of 2016, he returned with a refined wobble-seam dimension that confounded India in the first Test of the 2021 tour. In a series dominated by spinners, he grabbed eight wickets at 15.87. And on all of these tours, he bowled with an economy rate of less than three runs.

It’s another understated aspect of bowling in the subcontinent, the value of a keep-an-end-tight bowler, the foil to an attacking spinner. Stokes can do the job, but is not fit enough to bowl, leave alone long spells under the hot sun.

England’s James Anderson celebrates taking the wicket of India’s Virat Kohli with teammates. (Reuters Photo)

Even at 41, Anderson could. On the last trip, only spinner Jack Leach bowled more overs than him for England, and he was the most economical bowler (1.92). In these three years, his constitution has held on as firmly — he has been sporting a ripped torso in Hyderabad — and despite a fallow Ashes series (on decks with negligible swing and a slip-cordon with greasy palms), his guiles remain undiminished. Between the Ashes and the India tour, Anderson underwent a rigorous physical conditioning programme on a track near Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.

“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer this team. I would not still be doing what I’m doing if I didn’t feel like that. I still feel like I have got the skills to win England games of cricket,” he would tell The Telegraph.

Full of tricks

As much as his skills, Anderson imposes himself psychologically on batsmen, especially the top order. More than the pace of Wood, the movement that Anderson could extract with the new ball, both conventional and with a wobble seam, could torment India’s top three. South Africa’s seamers, albeit in different conditions, confounded Yashasvi Jaiswal with new-ball movement; Anderson has in the past troubled Shubman Gill; his duels with Virat Kohli are storied; he has dismissed Rohit Sharma just twice, but Sharma would be incredibly wary of the guiles of Anderson.

Not to forget the wisdom of 183 Test matches — two of his colleagues were not even born when he made his debut in 2003, most other teammates were toddlers — and the wealth of 690 Test wickets. Without him, England’s bowlers are now left with an experience of 67 Tests and 225 wickets, bulk of them accounted for by Leach and Wood.

In that sense, not picking Anderson is perhaps anti-Bazball, in not trusting your strengths and packing the eleven with three spinners, of whom one is a debutant, and the other one Test old. It clearly betrays the lack of confidence in their second spinner (plus the handy Joe Root). It could even be a sign of panic. Even if Stokes and McCullum stand validated after the Test, Anderson will be missed. For the art he possesses and the sheer fear he provokes.