James Anderson recites late England legend Bob Willis’ handwritten poem post retirement

James Anderson. (Source – Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Bob Willis was one of the finest pacers of England who was termed as lethal among the ranks of Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel. The veteran cricketer, before he breathed his last in 2019, had expressed his admiration for James Anderson through a handwritten letter. Anderson, who played his final international game at Lord’s on July 12, took to social media account and uploaded a video reciting the poem by Willis.

The letter came after Anderson broke former England all-rounder Ian Botham’s wicket tally in 2015. Anderson, who was playing his 100th Test, claimed Denesh Ramdin’s wicket on the last day of the Test to surpass Botham’s tally of 383 wickets. Over the years, Anderson went on to claim 704 wickets in Tests, making him the overall third and first in the pacer’s pantheon to do so.

“When you were practising with Cooley and Seca, did you dream you’d be the leading wicket-taker? But all that slog in the middle during lunch helped you become the best of the bunch. Beating Beefy’s [Ian Botham] tally is an amazing feat, a record that simply will never be beat. You’ve seen all the coaches from Fletcher to Moors, who would have thought that at St Theodore’s? Don’t forget the batting and watching the night, the Burnley Lara shows plenty of fight,” Bob wrote in his letter, as seen in the video uploaded by Sky Sports Cricket.

“But with the ball you have no peers, the king of swing has been the best for years. So congrats, Jimmy, on one hell of a job. You’ll always have great respect from Big Bob. Got to throw it. He’s there. There’s only one more thing for us to do, isn’t there?” he added.

Here’s the video of Anderson’s recitation:

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