At first sight I thought ‘she is beautiful’: James Anderson on Stuart Broad in his book

“My God, she’s beautiful,” was what Jimmy Anderson thought when he first saw fellow England pacer Stuart Broad with his flowing blond hair, striking blue eyes and a perfect figure.

Anderson, the leading Test wicket taker among fast bowlers, revealed this in his new book, ‘Bowl. Sleep. Repeat.’The 36-year-old, who has taken 575 wickets from 148 Tests, also wrote about off-spinner Graeme Swann’s ‘loudest fart’ during a team meeting addressed by coach Andy Flower.

“The first time Stuart Broad walked into the dressing room, with his flowing blond hair, striking blue eyes and perfect figure, I thought: ‘My God, she’s beautiful’.

“It’s surreal we’ve taken more than 1,000 wickets between us,” Anderson wrote in the book, excerpts of which were published by British tabloid ‘The Sun’.

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“We’ve never been in competition as bowlers because our skills are different. Stuart has been under pressure at times from bowlers who get steep bounce and move the ball off the seam and I have from the skiddier ones who swing the ball. It’s never been me or him in selection,” the pacer, known for his swing bowling, wrote.

Anderson said that part of the duo’s evolution as partners has been talking a lot.

“We’ve always had the attitude that fast bowling is something you do in partnerships. The conversation has really helped us. ‘Shall I try this?’ ‘No, stick to the plan.’ We’ll be checking each other all the time.”Anderson said that after Broad was hit in the face by a bouncer against India at Old Trafford in 2014, he had dreams in which he “imagined cricket balls flying at him, waking up bolt upright in bed”.

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“A common initial misconception of Stuart in the early days was that he was a bit of a show pony. He’s not. He works so hard,” Anderson wrote.

“We share a car to grounds now. He’s really into R’n’B, rap and grime. I’ve always wondered how a gangly, geeky guy from public school has found such an affinity with that sort of music.

“We have one vital shared interest. Everyone else wants to get in early to start practising. Broady and I would rather have another half-hour in bed. We try to get there at the last possible moment.”

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About Swann’s fart during a team meeting, Anderson wrote: “I remember when Andy Flower had taken over and we were having a team talk. Flower required a respectful silence when he was speaking.

“Halfway through, Swanny farted. It was loud. To this day, the loudest fart I’ve ever heard. Flower looked at him, in borderline shock, then paused. Swanny apologised. Flower continued but then reconsidered, stopped and turned back to Swanny, pointing his finger in his face: ‘Actually, that is out of order’.

“Swanny held his ground. He said: ‘I’ve said sorry once, I’m not doing it again’.”