Anderson closing in on elite England pace trio

The main business, of course, for Anderson and England is not a personal milestone – however significant – but to try to force a series-clinching victory over New Zealand in Auckland to finish their winter on a high.

After soggy stalemates in Dunedin and Wellington, both teams still have a shot in the deciding third and final Test, which gets underway tonight.

Anderson will be rightly proud when he joins Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Ian Botham in England’s elite 300 club.

But after mustering just seven wickets in 70 overs in this series, the senior fast bowler in the tourists’ current ranks is characteristically taking nothing for granted.

Anderson under-estimated his success to date here, in fact, having fared better than he apparently recalls on an especially unresponsive surface at the University Oval two weeks ago.

“I think two (wickets) is the most I’ve got in an innings on this trip,” he said.

“So that’s the first thing I’ve got to try to do... take some wickets.”

Anderson actually finished with 4-137 for his toils in that first Test, when New Zealand batted just once.

A second rain-affected draw at the Basin Reserve was another struggle, back-to-form Stuart Broad taking the bowling honours to help England enforce the follow-on but to no avail. The omens then are not especially encouraging for Anderson’s bid to make history, on a drop-in pitch which is again expected to favour the batsmen.

Whether he reaches 300 here, or in the return series against the Kiwis at either Lord’s or Headingley, it will be an accurate reflection of the 30-year-old’s elevated status among England’s finest.

“It would be a huge achievement,” he said.

“I’m aware of it. But it’s something, once I get into the game, I won’t be thinking about.”

Anderson will not be distracted either, thankfully, by the niggles in his heel and back which were causing England consternation in Wellington.

He declared himself fully-recovered from his exertions there, and intent on helping England make it a clean sweep of victories in all formats in New Zealand – to add to their historic Test series success in India before Christmas.

He is not exactly full of the joys of Spring just yet but is confident he has one more big effort in him before resting for England’s high-profile summer to come.

“I don’t think fresh is the word,” he said. “But when you’ve got just one Test left, you always manage to find something a little bit extra in the tank – knowing we have got a few weeks off when we get home.

“If we did manage to come away with a win, it’d be a fantastic winter for English cricket throughout all forms of the game.”

A livelier pitch would put a further spring in Anderson’s step.

Although he would be delighted if there were a little more pace and bounce here, he knows the reality is that more graft lies ahead for him and his fellow pace bowlers Broad and Steven Finn.

“That’s just the way things are,” he said. “You have to find different ways of getting people out.

“You can’t always just steam in and try and roll sides over.

“You’ve got to use other skills, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do this trip.”

One of those standing in Anderson’s way will be former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor. The middle-order batsman is gradually rediscovering his form after his much-chronicled disagreements with coach Mike Hesson and exile for the tour of South Africa at the start of this year.

Taylor discounts the suggestion England have somehow not quite been ready for the determination they have encountered from their hosts.

“It’s a characteristic of most New Zealand teams,” he said. “I’d be very surprised if we’ve caught them on the hop.

“This is a position we haven’t been in for a while... if we can play to our potential we have a chance.”

Building up for the showdown

New Zealand v England, Third Test, Thursday, March 21 (9.30pm GMT)

Coverage: Sky Sports 1 from 9pm tonight.

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland.

England team (from): AN Cook (capt), NRD Compton, IJL Trott, IR Bell, JE Root, MJ Prior (wkt), SCJ Broad, ST Finn, JM Anderson, MS Panesar, CR Woakes, JC Tredwell, JM Bairstow.

New Zealand (from): B McCullum (capt), P Fulton, H Rutherford, K Williamson, R Taylor, D Brownlie, BJ Watling (wkt), N Wagner, T Southee, T Boult, B Martin, D Bracewell, I Butler.

Umpires: P Reiffel (Aus) and R Tucker (Aus).

Third umpire: A Rauf (Pak).

Match referee: R Mahanama (SL).