James Anderson was arguably the greatest fast bowler England ever produced. He was also, with 100% certainty, one of the worst batsmen to ever play Test cricket. His batting average hovered near single figures for most of his career, and his time at the crease was invariably brief and entertaining — brief because he couldn't bat, and entertaining because his attempts to bat were genuinely, consistently hilarious.
Anderson's batting highlights (if you can call them that) included wild swings that missed by feet, textbook forward defensives that somehow resulted in him being bowled through the gate, and an array of frustrated bat-throwing moments when he was dismissed in ways that only a true number 11 could manage. His batting stance alone was comedy gold — he looked like a man who had been handed a bat five minutes earlier and wasn't entirely sure which end to hold. His grip suggested someone who had studied batting from a poorly written instruction manual.
The Adelaide Ashes Test of 2013 produced a particularly memorable Anderson batting moment during England's capitulation. Australia's Mitchell Johnson was bowling at terrifying pace — genuine 150 km/h thunderbolts — and Anderson's attempts to survive were equal parts brave and hilarious. His technique against genuine pace was essentially "close eyes, push bat forward, hope for the best," and the results were predictably catastrophic. Johnson bowled balls that Anderson's bat was approximately three seconds late for.
Despite all this, Anderson batted in 269 Test innings — meaning the cricketing world got 269 chances to watch cricket's greatest number 11 comedy show. Every single one was a performance, and the audience was always entertained, even if Anderson himself rarely was.