Gibson heartened by bowlers club

England bowling coach Ottis Gibson refuses to take credit for the maturation of England’s leading fast bowler, James Anderson.

Anderson, 26, has endured tough times in his six-year international career, but underlined his mastery of swing bowling in the two npower Test wins over West Indies this month.

Gibson, the former West Indies, Glamorgan, Leicestershire and Durham paceman, was brought in as ECB bowling coach in October 2007, and Anderson’s rise has coincided neatly with his tenure.

But the Bajan puts Anderson’s improvement squarely down to the man himself.

“I can’t claim any great reward for what Jimmy has done,” Gibson told ECBtv. “He’s a fantastic bowler and always has been.

“Jimmy made his class felt at Durham, where we got the ball swinging. And he’s world-class when he does so.

James Anderson's swing proved irresistable at the Riverside: here he defeats Windies opener Devon Smith

“He always knew how to bowl swing, I just tried to put some structure to his practice.

“I reckon in those conditions with the swinging ball, there’s nobody better.”

Gibson has welcomed two new seamers into his camp this summer, with the addition of Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions to the England squad.

Onions took seven wickets on Test debut at Lord’s, including 5-38 in the first innings. And Bresnan bounced back from a peripheral start at Lord’s to clean up three wickets at the Riverside in England’s innings victory.

Though his familiarity with Onions and Bresnan has helped, Gibson urges that the team has been quick to forge a collective unit this English summer.

“Part of my job was to allow them to settle into their environment,” Gibson explains. “For any new guys making a debut it’s a little nerve-wracking.

“I made my debut at Lord’s and it’s a special thing. For Onions to go on and get five wickets on debut at Lord’s was great.

“The environment at the moment is a very supportive one. It’s easy for me. I played with and against Graham, so I know how he operates.

“I know a little about how Tim likes to operate. I like to be in the nets talking about stuff and helping them develop.

“If things go well it’s easy. When things are a little harder you need strong characters.

“Everybody was disappointed for Tim at Lord’s. But everybody is sharing each other’s pain as well as their success, which is great. He wasn’t needed then.”