Stuart Broad & James Anderson - Two Peas in a Pod. Almost!

Their similar career progression & what each of them is better at!

The 2nd Ashes test marks the 150th test appearance for Stuart Broad. 150 Tests – 520+ Wickets – These are numbers that would and should put someone into the GOAT category of players to have ever played Test Cricket. After all, he’s only the 10th player in the history of Test Cricket to have played 150+ tests. However, Broad ends up taking the backseat to a much more celebrated peer – James Anderson.

Stuart Broad made his test debut in 2007 against Sri Lanka in Colombo, four years after James Anderson made his. He has been a constant fixture in the team ever since, featuring in 84.7% of all matches England has played since then (Missing matches due to England’s rotation policy). In that period, he has more caps than James Anderson (147). Anderson, in contrast, has featured in 70.2% of tests that England has played since his debut.

The strikingly similar career progression of Broad and Anderson

Their careers couldn’t have started any more differently – Jimmy Anderson picking up a 5-for on his debut and Stuart Broad picking up 1-95 on his. However, their numbers get remarkably similar as their careers have progressed. Their averages dropped below 30 around their 75th Test mark and have been consistently moving towards the Mid-20s ever since.

Home & Away Averages

Yet again, indistinguishable. James Anderson has slightly better averages, both Home and Away – By just a point or less. The only number where Anderson has been better than Broad has been in the number of 5-fors.

When Anderson & Broad play together

Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have played 125 tests together – 75 at Home and 50 Away. And when they do, Anderson tends to perform a lot better than his aggregate numbers – Especially in home conditions. Stuart Broad’s numbers are similar (A bit higher than his aggregate), but Anderson tends to up his game when bowling in tandem with Broad.

They have picked up 940 wickets together, so far. It is comfortably the highest by a fast-bowling duo. The second best is the West Indian pair of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose with 762 wickets in matches they’ve played together..

Anderson has spoken to the fact that he enjoys bowling in tandem with Stuart Broad. And it shows!

“We love bowling together in Test matches as well, we have a really good understanding and we bowl well when the other guy bowling is at the other end, we seem to know what each other is trying to do” - James Anderson about Stuart Broad

Enough of the similarities in their careers. Let us look at what each of these legends is objectively better at.

What’s Stuart Broad better at

Bowling vs Australia

The Ashes is the most coveted fixture for England in Tests. Stuart Broad has been involved in some iconic Ashes moments – The remarkable 8/15 spell in Nottingham, David Warner being his bunny in the 2019 Ashes, his 10-for in the Chester test of 2013 etc. Broad is the more successful of the Anderson-Broad duo in the Ashes, as he has picked up more wickets at a better average.

Stuart Broad is, in fact, the third-highest wicket-taker of all time for England in the Ashes – Only behind Ian Botham (148) and Bob Willis (128).

Bowling in the 4th Innings

Stuart Broad’s potency with the ball is at its best in the 4th innings. Both have picked up 81 wickets in the 4th innings, but Broad picks them up at 1.1 runs apiece less. And in matches that England has won, Stuart Broad has a bowling average of 20.27 (to James Anderson’s 20.90) and has the most wickets by any English bowler ever (66).

Bowling in South Africa

The bounce in South African pitches suits Stuart Broad’s bowling style. He relies more on seam movement than Anderson - who relies on the swing (conventional and reverse). And his numbers show. He is not just the 2nd highest wicket-taker for England in South Africa, but his average of 23.95 is a lot better than Jimmy Anderson’s (34.61).

What’s James Anderson better at

Bowling to Left-handers

The two England legends have eerily similar numbers against Right-handers in Test Cricket. But against left-handers, James Anderson has their number a lot more and a lot better than Broad. His average is 4.3 points better than Broad.

Bowling vs India

After Australia, It’s India that England has played most often against in the past two decades. And Anderson has bossed India whenever the two teams have faced off. He is one of only two bowlers in the history of test cricket to have picked up 100+ wickets against India (133) and has picked them up at just 25.22 each. In comparison, Stuart Broad has picked up 71 wickets at 27.64 each.

Bowling to Openers

James Anderson has picked up the most opener wickets in the past 20 years of Test Cricket, followed by Stuart Broad (Which is understandable as they have played 150+ Tests). James Anderson is the more successful one against openers – averaging 30.99 to Broad’s 36.33.

Anderson picks those wickets once every 10.5 overs, while Broad picks them up once every 12.1 overs. Both have picked up the wicket of David Warner the most times among openers (9 times by Anderson, 12 by Broad).

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James Anderson is the more celebrated bowler among the two. However, there isn’t much difference between these two legends of English cricket. There are subtle differences when we dig deeper. But on average, Stuart Broad = James Anderson. We’ve seen Jimmy get the respect he well and truly deserves as the years have passed. And just as their career trajectories have traversed similar paths, Broady will and should claim his place on the GOAT tier of quicks in Test Cricket pretty soon.