Category profile
- Dominance
- 90
- Peak
- 94
- Longevity
- 98
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 96
Career timeline · Centuries per year
| Season | Centuries per year | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 30 | |
| 2003 | 36 | |
| 2004 | 41 | |
| 2005 | 47 | |
| 2006 | 52 | |
| 2007 | 58 | |
| 2008 | 63 | |
| 2009 | 69 | |
| 2010 | 74 | |
| 2011 | 80 | |
| 2012 | 85 | |
| 2013 | 91 | |
| 2014 | 96 | |
| 2015 | 91 | |
| 2016 | 86 | |
| 2017 | 81 | |
| 2018 | 76 | |
| 2019 | 71 | |
| 2020 | 65 | |
| 2021 | 60 | |
| 2022 | 55 | |
| 2023 | 50 | |
| 2024 | 45 |
Data sources
- ESPNcricinfo Statsguru
- ICC official records
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why James Anderson ranks #5 in Cricket
James Anderson ranks 5th among Cricket athletes on GOAT Rank and 160th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 92.9 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 98, Honours 88, Statistics 96. Those categories are normalised against the full Cricket reference universe of 294 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 2002–2024 with 23 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2014, which sets the Peak component at 94. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 98 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes test wickets 704, tests played 188, five-wicket hauls 32, odi wickets 269.
Immediately ahead sits Wally Hammond on 93.0, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Garry Sobers on 92.7. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
James Anderson GOAT Score explained
- Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Anderson stood above the field while competing. Scored 90/100 against the full Cricket cohort.
- Peak94/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2014. Scored 94/100.
- Longevity98/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 22 years of competition and 23 recorded seasons. Scored 98/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics96/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 96/100.
Top Anderson comparisons
James Anderson — frequently asked
- Is James Anderson the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. James Anderson ranks 5th in Cricket with a GOAT Score of 92.9, behind Don Bradman on 96.8.
- What is James Anderson's GOAT Score?
- 92.9 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 98 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 96 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does James Anderson rank all time?
- 160th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 5th within Cricket.
- James Anderson vs Wally Hammond: who ranks higher?
- Wally Hammond, on 93.0 against James Anderson's 92.9 — a margin of 0.1 points.