England vs NZ: How does Williamson fare against Anderson?
England and New Zealand are set to be engaged in a two-match Test series, starting June 2 at Lord's. The Kane Williamson-led side will undergo a much-needed grill ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final against India. However, they will be facing the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in England's Test conditions. Let us analyze Williamson's Test performance against Anderson.
Williamson is one of the consistent scorers in modern-day cricket. He draws attention due to his precise technique, especially on tricky decks. The crafty batsman has racked up 7,115 runs from 83 Tests at a remarkable average of 54.31. He owns 24 tons and four double-centuries in the format. His best score of 251 came against the West Indies in December 2020.
Anderson is presently the most successful fast bowler in Test cricket. In a career spanning over nearly two decades, the senior pacer has scaled new heights. So far, he has snapped up 614 wickets from 160 Tests at an average of 26.46. He is only behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), and Anil Kumble (619) on the list.
Over the years, the intriguing rivalry between two of the prolific players, Williamson and Anderson, has grabbed eyeballs. The latter has dismissed Williamson a total number of six times in Test cricket alone. Meanwhile, Williamson has also scored 130 runs off 341 balls against Anderson. He has scored 19 boundaries off Anderson, while the latter has bowled as many as 286 dot balls.
In 2013, Anderson uprooted Williamson thrice, while the latter scored 75 runs off 198 balls. In another series after two years (2015), Anderson could dismiss Williamson only once (28 runs off 80 balls). In 2018, Williamson fell to Anderson twice (27 runs off 63 balls).
Anderson has managed to dismiss Williamson only twice in England in Test cricket. In these matches, Williamson has aggregated 51 runs off 160 balls against the former (strike-rate: 31.90). The tally includes a total of 137 dot balls. Williamson fares better against Anderson at home, having scored 79 runs off 181 balls. However, Anderson has dismissed him four times in New Zealand.
