I’ve been listening to Jimmy Anderson’s autobiography. Anyone familiar with England’s greatest fast bowler might question how engaging his story could be: he’s not known for being the cheeriest or most revealing in interviews.
This book, though, offers a surprising insight into Jimmy as a young boy, before he became the wicket-taking titan we know today. Early in the book he powerfully describes how lonely and isolated he felt as a bullied teenager. As someone who was bullied growing up I could relate to the pain and dissonance he felt, wondering where he belonged, struggling to fit in.
Friendship and finally fitting in
It was only at Burnley Cricket Club that he found friendship. 'Being in cricket transformed me, really. It was how I came to connect with people.' He goes on to describe how being part of a team, initially in the third eleven, helped him relate to those younger and older than him, how it gave him a sense of confidence he never had before. Ultimately, he describes how it was with that one thing in common, a love of cricket, that he first found real friendship.
