Every year, James Anderson, 41, keeps adding to his list of admirers who can’t stop raving about his unmatched ability to defy age. But recently even the legendary English cricketer, the only pace bowler in history to have taken 700 Test wickets, was lost for words when he bumped into Freddy Sidhwa, an 82-year-old cricketing romantic who still plays the sport every weekend in Dubai.
The octogenarian businessman recently flew to London to play in the JP Morgan International Cricket Cup, a community event, at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Sidhwa, who bowls left-arm spin, has been a regular at the JP Morgan event where his list of victims includes Brendon McCullum, Dale Steyn and Rashid Khan.
This year’s event saw the participation of Anderson, who will hang up his boots after the first match of the three-Test series between England and the West Indies next week.
“I have been playing this event at Lord’s for many years. This time we could only play one match outdoors because of rain. But meeting Anderson was a great moment for me,” the Dubai-based Indian businessman said.
Fast bowlers have rarely survived the rigours of cricket in their mid-30s. Courtney Walsh, the West Indies legend, was an exception who remained rock solid until he retired at the age of 39 in 2001.
But Anderson has even surpassed the giant West Indian, delivering high-class swing bowling masterclasses in Test cricket, the most physically demanding format of the game in which the Englishman has taken 178 wickets in 54 matches at 24.11 since turning 35.
Sidhwa is not surprised by these stats.
“It was amazing to see his fitness. He is retiring now, but he is still incredibly fit,” he said.
“I think he is a big inspiration for everyone, not just for cricketers. It was very good to be with him, to chat with him, it was a great experience.”
There are echoes of Anderson in Sidhwa who plays every weekend at Ocean Fair Cricket Ground in the Dubai Investment Park, delivering his slow-left-arm spin with great guile and enthusiasm.
His undying passion for cricket earned the admiration of Anderson.
“Yes, he was quite amazed when he came to know about my age. Not just Anderson, Stuart Broad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Marnus Labuschagne also attended the event. It was great talking to them, we ate together and we chatted about the game we love so much,” said Sidhwa who played in Broad’s team.
For Sidhwa, who had also dismissed the iconic Brian Lara during a charity match in Dubai, playing cricket is the ultimate stressbuster.
“If you are under stress for something in your life, you should go and play the sport you love. When you play, the stress is gone. Any kind of game can release your stress,” said Sidhwa, an ‘early bird’ who gets up at 3 in the morning and does yoga to keep himself fit.
“You just have to keep yourself fit and keep playing. If you are fit and strong mentally, there is no way anybody can stop you.”