James Anderson finished with 704 Test wickets, Stuart Broad with 604. No other pair of fast bowlers has taken as many for one country, and they were not similar bowlers in any respect that mattered.
Two different problems
Anderson was a swing bowler who bowled to a fourth-stump line and moved the ball both ways from an identical action, which meant the batter had to play at deliveries they could not read. Broad was taller, hit the pitch harder and attacked the stumps, which meant the batter could read the delivery and still be beaten by the bounce.
Facing them in sequence removed the usual defence against either. Leaving on length worked against Anderson and got you out to Broad. Playing forward reversed the problem.
The part that is hard to replace
Both bowled well into their late thirties, which is not normal for a fast bowler, and both did it while carrying an attack rather than being protected inside one. Broad retired in 2023 at the end of an Ashes series; Anderson finished in 2024, still bowling in the low eighties with the seam upright.
Sides now talk about building a new-ball pair the way they once talked about finding a spinner. That is largely because these two demonstrated how much difference a genuine contrast is worth.
