Fab Four Archives

James Anderson weighs in on ‘Fab Four’ comparison with Sachin Tendulkar

England legend James Anderson has shared his views about cricket’s ‘Fab Four’ comparison with Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

The term ‘Fab Four’ was originally coined by late New Zealand great Martin Crowe back in 2013, when he predicted that Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson would dominate the cricketing landscape in the upcoming years.

His prediction proved right, as all four players went on to shatter many records and dominate the world, setting an impressive standard of excellence and consistency.

James Anderson, the leading wicket-taking fast bowler in Test cricket, recently appeared on a Podcast where he openly answered the questions regarding cricket’s ‘Fab fours’ comparison with an all time great, Sachin Tendulkar.

“Just below Tendulkar,” said Anderson in reply when asked about the comparison with Fab Four.

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The former India batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, is an all-time great, ranking as the leading run-scorer in both ODIs and Test cricket. The little master has amassed 18426 and 15921 runs, respectively, in 50-over and Test matches.

In addition to this question, James Anderson also revealed the toughest batter he had bowled to between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

“I had some success early against Kohli, the first time he came to England in 2014. I really exploited his weakness of outside off-stump, and then the next time I played against him – he had obviously gone back and worked on that – he was totally a different player, Anderson said.

He really had taken his game to a different level, made it very difficult for not just me but for bowlers in general. I got him out 4-5 times in the first series and then didn’t get him out in the next I played against him,” the right-arm pacer added.

The 42-year-old hailed Kohli’s ability to bounce back, noting that he was the most difficult to bowl at due to his mindset.

“Against Sachin, for example, I didn’t feel like there was that sort of shift in dominance. With Kohli, there was definitely a shift. Found him a very difficult player to bowl at because he had that steely mindset, wanted to get into a battle. He’s very competitive, and after that initial success, it was very difficult to bowl against,” James Anderson concluded.

For the unversed, James Anderson had a fierce battle with both batters, dismissing Virat Kohli seven times and Tendulkar nine times in Test matches.

READ: ICC set to back four-day Tests in 2027 WTC cycle

‘Babar Azam can become the No.1 batter in all formats’ Dinesh Karthik

DUBAI: Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik claimed that the top Pakistani batter Babar Azam has all the potential to become the No.1 batter in all formats of the game.

Karthik, while featuring in the latest episode of the ICC Review, hosted by Sanjana Ganesan, made a major prediction regarding the Pakistan captain; claiming the latter has all the potential and capabilities to achieve this astounding feat.

“One-hundred per cent (he is capable of achieving that). He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess and he has got some Test matches coming up,” Karthik stated.

“He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game and he has done well in different batting positions too. I wish him all the best and think he has the potential. He has got all the following of Pakistan helping him in abundance to go on and do special things for his country,” Karthik maintained.

"He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess.”

Dinesh Karthik has made a big prediction about Pakistan captain Babar Azam on the latest episode of the ICC Review 👀

Details 👇

— ICC (@ICC) May 27, 2022

The veteran Indian wicket-keeper also expressed his firm belief in the capabilities of Babar, who he thinks can transform the ‘Fab Four’ into ‘Fab Five’, while also terming the latter a ‘very special player.’

“It is a very strong ‘Fab Four’ that we are talking about and they have obviously been there for much longer, but there is no doubt that Babar has all the credentials and he is going to make it a ‘Fab Five’,” Karthik noted.

“There is no doubt he is there or thereabouts … he is a very special player,” he added.

Karthik further claimed of noticed that Babar has made subtle changes in his batting technique in recent years which helped him become a better player while also heaped praises on his balance and striking point.

“The two things that struck me when I watched him bat is his balance and his striking point when he plays a ball,” Karthik explained.

“Whether it is on the front foot or the back foot, his ability to strike the ball more often than not under his eyes, has been phenomenal. He strikes the ball at the point where it is optimum power for where the ball is pitched and that makes him a very special player,” he concluded.

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