James Anderson is looking forward to playing normal cricket again now the monkey of “England’s most successful test bowler” is off his back, and how can blame him? The way the media have built up this momentous occasion you would think they were crowing a new monarch at times. James Anderson is now England’s highest ever test wicket taker, and he deserves all the credit in the world for his skill and longevity which has enabled him to reach this heady height.

However, and you may have sensed this was coming, being the highest wicket taker does not make you “the best” as some commentators have espoused in the past week or so. If you look at the illustrious names of English test bowlers down the years, beneath Anderson on that leaderboard he now sits atop of, and compare them to England’s current swing king then I doubt there is any sane England fan who would put Anderson down as first name on the team sheet; and I think there are plenty for whom Anderson wouldn’t even make the first XI.

A selection of names that would come above Anderson for me are as follows, in no particular order:

John Snow: A fast, aggressive character whose rhythm and accuracy were as metronomic as Glenn Mcgrath. Had England been more open to wayward characters then he would have taken buckets of wickets in the test arena.

Angus Fraser: Played far too few test matches due to injury but still bagged 177 test wickets in England’s worst era of cricket – the 90s. A line and length bowler with a cumbersome action who was economical and tireless in the pursuit of success.

Hedley Verity: Classed as a slow left arm bowler but was so much more than that. He could bowl pace, swing, leg and off spinners as well as having a vicious Yorker that broke Bradman’s stumps and Aussie hearts on more than one occasion. England’s most natural ever bowler perhaps.

Maurice Tate: Probably the first great English exponent of late swing, as Anderson has become. Tate could also get seam movement later on in the innings and was no mean performer with the bat – over 20 first class hundreds on uncovered pitches.

Darren Gough: Again played in an era where England struggled but was never daunted by any opponent. At his best he was devastatingly quick while also being a proponent of swing with the older ball. A much better strike rate than Anderson in a worse side speaks volumes.

Sydney Barnes: A unique bowler who bowled a form of fast spin which enabled him to take 189 wickets in just 27 tests. His average for so many wickets will never be bettered – 16.43.

Brian Statham – A fellow Lancastrian to Anderson who bowled in England’s best ever new ball partnership with Fred Trueman, of whom more later. If Trueman was a great broadsword then Statham was a rapier who used the seam and sixpence delivered accuracy above pace to get his wickets

Ian Botham: A man who could turn a game with bat or ball in a single session. At times infuriating but a genius when it clicked. Adapted from being genuinely quick when young to being full of guile as he aged adapting suitably to bodily changes enabling him to keep plugging away.

Bob Willis: Surprisingly never took a ten wicket hall in test cricket but a genuine quick bowler who was economical with it. His height and long, bustling run up frightened many a batsman out before the ball was even delivered.

Fred Trueman: Another Yorkshireman on the list; the first to 300 wickets and at an average of 21.57. Genuine pace with the most natural action I have ever seen. Confident, brash and mastered the art of swing bowling as he aged and his pace dropped.

Frank Tyson: Some say, the quickest bowler that ever lived (Richie Benaud among them). Injury plagued him and his 17 tests is a cruelly small window with which to view his achievements, but the astonishing strike rate of 45.4 tells its own tale; only three other post war bowlers have better.

Matthew Hoggard: The bowler most similar to Anderson in this list and seemingly poorly treated after one bad game against New Zealand. His strike rate is better than Anderson as is his record of getting the top order out, an opening bowler’s best judgement.

While Anderson should be celebrated and his achievement in wicket accumulation is unmatched, it is important to not get carried away with worshipping heroes of our own era at the expense of those that have gone before. It may be unfair to compare and contrast across spans of time where cricket has changed so much, and the types of bowler who are all different to a greater or more subtle extent; for this reason I have eschewed comparisons with out-and-out spin bowlers.

James Anderson is the finest English bowler of his generation, of that there can be no question, but the corridors of English cricket are redolent with the memories of greatness; he ranks among the best but not above the best.