It was 20 years ago today, Sgt Nasser asked this kid to play …
It is 15 December 2002: a muggy late afternoon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Jimmy Anderson is getting his first taste of international cricket. It’s thin gruel to begin with. Anderson – all willowy limbs, frosted tips and early noughties statement necklace – comes up against the gnarled brutality of Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting. Both batsmen make bullish centuries and the Australians pound Nasser Hussain’s side by 89 runs. It’s the second match of the VB one-day series and in a punishing schedule quirk it is taking place between the third and fourth Tests of the 2002‑03 Ashes. A different time.
