Anderson's five-fer a surprising revelation

James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s stunning display on day two of the first Test at Headingley not only tore through Sri Lanka – it also provided a startling revelation for England’s star pace pair.

Headingley had historically been Anderson’s least productive ground on English soil - his seven previous matches in Leeds returning 19 wickets at 41 runs apiece - and one he never relished the idea of bowling on.

But it seems the ground is growing on both he and Broad after Friday’s performance.

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Anderson claimed 5-16 and Broad 4-21 as Sri Lanka were routed for 91 in reply to England’s 298 and subsequently forced to follow on.

"Me and Stuart have just had a chat and said it has taken us nine years to realise we are bowling at the wrong ends here,” Anderson, who bowled exclusively from the Rugby Stand End, said after play.

"We finally figured it out and got some rewards.

"We’ve hated the place for so long and our records are so poor we thought, why not? There’s nothing to lose.

"The pitch is very different to a normal Headingley pitch, there is more in it for the bowlers.

"We just thought we’d give it a go. That’s how deeply we think about things.”

Image Id: ~/media/1B6FC40C0116441581BB5F6A5F0E8A35 Image Caption: Another five-wicket haul for Anderson // Getty Images 

Anderson’s five-fer also saw the fast bowler surpass Kapil Dev to move to No.6 on the all-time Test wicket-takers list.

Anderson entered the Test on 433 wickets, one behind Dev, and didn’t have to wait long to draw level on Friday, removing Kaushal Silva with his third over to leave Sri Lanka 2-12.

Then, he trapped Angelo Mathews in front for wicket No.435, before adding another three to claim his 19th five-wicket haul in Tests.

The 33-year-old now has 438 wickets from 114 Tests.

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Since claiming his 400^th Test scalp against New Zealand in May last year, Anderson has moved past Sir Richard Hadlee (431), Shaun Pollock (421), Harbhajan Singh (417), Wasim Akram (414), Dale Steyn (406) and Curtly Ambrose (405) on the wicket-taking charts.

However, his next target is a considerable distance ahead – West Indies great Courtney Walsh, with 519 wickets.

Anderson’s performance on Friday drew praise from English broadcaster Jonathan Agnew, who noted the conditions were perfect for England’s new-ball pair.

"Once Sri Lanka went in to bat, conditions were tailor-made for England's brilliant new-ball duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and frankly it would have been a surprise if they hadn't made hay against a very callow Sri Lankan batting line-up,” Agnew told BBC Sport.

"Anderson and Broad are high-class operators with bags of experience, and with gloomy skies overhead and some very fine catchers in the slip cordon, conditions were loaded in their favour.

"Anderson in particular was magnificent, moving the ball at will, and the fact that he passed Kapil Dev as the sixth-highest Test wicket-taker of all time only served to underline his outstanding pedigree."

Image Id: ~/media/CE3389A7989E4572867B43EE508F2CE7 Image Caption: Anderson celebrates wicket No.434 // Getty Images 

Last month, Anderson told The Telegraph UK he hoped to reach 500 wickets before calling time on his international career.

"In the back of my mind I think I can get 500 Test wickets," Anderson told The Telegraph UK.

"And what has helped me during the last three or four years has been thinking about staying as fit as possible so I get on the field.

"Then I can contribute to us winning games. If I do that and stay in the team it means I will get wickets.

"I would like to play the 2019 Ashes. I will be 37 then."

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