Profiles / Frank Gregan / 02 August 2010 /

He may have taken 11 wickets in the Test and named man-of-the-match but James Anderson doesn't always perform like that and Frank Gregan doesn't think the Aussies will be having sleepless nights about facing the Lancashire star in sunny conditions...

The England bandwagon goes rolling on after their demolition of the Pakistanis in the first Test at Trent Bridge which came courtesy of some sloppy opposition fielding, a superb repair job by their middle order batsmen and some top notch bowling. James Anderson was the star of the show helping himself to his first ever ten wicket haul in a Test match as he scythed his way through the Pakistani attack.

Anderson celebrated his 28th birthday on the second day of this Test and must have thought that he was in for a birthday from hell after he was out for a first ball duck during the morning session. Things certainly got better for him as the day progressed, the cloud cover providing perfect conditions for him to swing his magic and finish with five for 54.

Things improved further for the dour Lancashire man on Day 4. At 15-3 and in all sorts of trouble at stumps on Day 3, the Pakistanis would have spent the night dreaming of weather extremes; they needed it to hammer down or to wake up to a beautiful sunny day but it was to be more cloud and perfect swing bowling conditions.

It was exactly what Anderson wanted and he didn't disappoint, finishing with breathtaking figures of 6-17 and capturing that much-coveted ten wicket haul as the Pakistanis were skittled out for 80 before lunch.

So what now for James Anderson? His career to date has had more highs and lows than the FTSE 100 and a loss of form never seems far away. His captain continues to back him "In the right conditions there's no better bowler in the world" said Andrew Strauss last week before the Test and he was proved right as Anderson swung the ball wickedly both ways off a length that left the batsmen bemused and with no option but to play at the ball.

Strauss was bang on, at Trent Bridge, a ground renowned for swing and with conditions in his favour, James Anderson is one of the best bowlers in the world. That opinion was endorsed by the Pakistani captain Salman Butt who has faced both Ashes attacks in a very short space of time this summer and has been much more impressed by Anderson than any of the Aussies.

The harsh reality is however that the upcoming Ashes series is to be played in Australia, most likely in brilliant sunshine on wickets with more bounce than Zebedee riding a pogo stick! Swing, craft and guile are not the order of the day - projectiles launched at 90 odd miles per hour from a hand that is nine feet from the ground and dug in at a length that targets the armpit, are what's needed.

That's not Anderson's forte and when the selectors gather around the table and pick a squad to carry the nation's hopes Down Under his name shouldn't be one of the first scribbled down on the team sheet. They need to give serious thought as to whether he will make a worthwhile contribution to the bowling attack on tracks that won't suit him.

James Anderson's bowling has long been considered an enigma but the answer is glaringly obvious. It's a classic case of horses for courses and Anderson is a bowler who needs conditions in his favour, otherwise he is cannon fodder. If the ball doesn't swing his pace isn't threatening and as he tires in blistering temperatures, the ball disappears to the boundary.

But given the right conditions he is right up there with the world's best and he will be relishing the chance to put the Pakistanis to the sword again in the second Test that gets underway at Edgbaston on Friday.

Salman Butt's men look to have little spirit and little chance. It can only be a slightly dodgy weather forecast that is keeping the English price as high as [1.66] to win. The Pakistanis are [6.2] with the draw at [4.1]. If the rain stays away the price on the English could prove to be very generous.

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