A couple of years ago New Scientist magazine received a letter asking whether composers will eventually run out of new combinations of notes with which to create original melodies. The answer, in practical terms, was no, although the sentiment behind the question comes to mind when trying to sum up Jimmy Anderson.
Such has been the number of milestones reached and breached by Anderson over the years that the rolling tributes have begun to struggle for new material. The artistry, the skill, the fitness, the wobble seam, the references to things that did not exist back when he made his Test debut in 2003, such as the iPhone, Facebook or Shoaib Bashir – the story of England’s record-wicket taker has been told and retold, from those formative, shy years in Burnley through to the bona fide British sporting great who bows out at Lord’s this week, starting on Wednesday.
