England great Anderson praises ‘legend’ Hasan Ali

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

Veteran England pacer James Anderson is in awe of star Pakistan speedster Hasan Ali after an impressive stint in the ongoing County Championship.

The 27-year-old is part of Lancashire, where he claimed 24 wickets in just eight innings.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Anderson said he has learned some stuff by watching the Pakistan pacer. “Hasan Ali is an absolute legend, great guy and bowler,” he said.  “He is quite quick and he gives it everything, every ball. He’s been amazing for Lancashire. It’s been great bowling with him.”

“You can learn a lot from people you have not played with before when you see how they operate and see the different things they do,” he said. “Although he’s been asking me a lot of questions about what I do, I’ve also been watching him and have learned some stuff from him,” Anderson added.

Moreover, the legendary pacer was also impressed with Hasan’s dedication to the game. “Hasan just loves cricket and bowling. He will bowl all day long, he will never say no to the captain or say I am feeling tired or I need a rest,” he added.

Hasan Ali was very excited to share the dressing room with the England bowling great when he first arrived in the County Championship.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to sharing the dressing room with their players; obviously we have Jimmy bhai, Jimmy Anderson, so I’m very happy and very excited.”

“Honestly, I never spoke with him before. But now I’m going to have a lot of questions to ask him. I’m going to disturb him. [Laughs] We know he’s a great bowler. He swings the ball both ways. I’m going to learn how he swings the ball both ways, especially the cross-seam ball. I’m going to learn it,” he added.