By the end of another breathless chapter of a compelling contest, however, Anderson's mood had been restored to a level more befitting a birthday boy. "The day didn't start out great, but a few wickets at the end made up for it, and we finished on a happy note," he said with his habitual solemnity. "Yesterday it swung and the pitch did help, and we knew if we were patient enough we'd get some nicks. So we tried to be as patient as possible, keep the runs down, and it paid off for us."
Anderson's deadpan delivery when addressing the media is unrecognisable from the jive-talking wisecracking he produces with the ball. With wicked late movement from a taxing full length, his mercurial brand of banana-ey seam and swing presented a challenge every bit as eyecatching as that of Asif and Mohammad Aamer, two players whose merits have earned them comparisons with some of the greatest players in the game - Aamer, for his part, enhanced his status as the new Wasim Akram with an innings of 25 that put his top-order to shame, while Asif is now one wicket shy of his century, and assuming England have to bat again, he will surely emulate the great Waqar Younis by reaching that milestone in his 20th Test.
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