The two men Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson are expected to attend an official unveiling during the World Test Championship final at Lord’s this week.Former right-arm seamer James Anderson said that it was a “huge honour” that the Test series between India and England has been named after him and India’s legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will replace the long-standing Pataudi Trophy ahead of this summer’s five-match Test series, which gets underway at Headingley on June 20.
Cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson will now have a special place in the India-England Test rivalry, as the two boards, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board), have decided to name the Test series between the two countries on them (Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy).
James Anderson’s Test career, spanning 188 matches over 21 years, came to an end where it had begun – at Lord’s – with a three-for in the second innings as England routed West Indies by an innings and 114 runs. James Anderson finished with 704 Test wickets and it could have been 705 if he had not dropped a dolly off Gudakesh Motie off his own bowling, which would have finished off the game.
After starting under Nasser Hussain (also his interviewer at the end) in a team that still had the likes of Michael Vaughan and Alec Stewart to playing with debutants Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith in his final Test, James Anderson has had 109 team-mates in Test cricket. James Anderson was part of 83 of England’s Test wins including the ones that won them an Away Ashes in 2010/11, after a 24-year drought, and a 2-1 series win in India in 2012 – which is the last instance of an away team beating India in India.
James Anderson’s illustrious Test career since 2003
The seasoned pacer James Anderson has dominated red-ball cricket with his mastery of the swing as well as the reverse swing. He made his debut in the Test format against Zimbabwe at The Lord’s, and he will bid farewell to fans as a player at the same venue.
His 6/17 against Pakistan in the first Test in 2010 at Trent Bridge still echoes the prowess of his remarkable career. He left Pakistan batters Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali, and many more players speechless. In 187 Tests, Anderson has taken 700 wickets at an average of 26.52, with the best bowling figures of 7/42. He has also taken 269 wickets in 194 ODIs for England and 18 wickets in 19 T20Is.
It would be pig-headed to ignore the romanticism of Anderson’s journey coming to an end at Lord’s, no matter how reluctant. This was where it all began in 2003 against Zimbabwe. And while the “Home of Cricket” has not always been kind to its legends – neither Sachin Tendulkar nor Brian Lara have centuries here – it has rewarded Anderson handsomely.
Of his 700 career dismissals, 119 have come at this venue alone, with the majority from the Pavilion End. His name appears on the honors board seven times, including what remain career-best figures of 7 for 42 against West Indies in 2017. The first of those – incumbent captain Kraigg Brathwaite – took him to 500 career dismissals.
James Anderson concluded his legendary Test career spanning 188 Test matches and more than two decades on a high note as England beat West Indies by an innings and 114 runs on Friday. The seasoned pacer James Anderson has dominated red-ball cricket with his mastery of the swing as well as the reverse swing. He made his debut in the Test format against Zimbabwe at The Lord’s, and he will bid farewell to fans as a player at the same venue.
In 187 Tests, Anderson has taken 700 wickets at an average of 26.52, with the best bowling figures of 7/42. He has also taken 269 wickets in 194 ODIs for England and 18 wickets in 19 T20Is.
James Anderson’s Test career, spanning 188 matches over 21 years, came to an end where it had begun – at Lord’s – with a three-for in the second innings as England routed West Indies by an innings and 114 runs. James Anderson finished with 704 Test wickets and it could have been 705 if he had not dropped a dolly off Gudakesh Motie off his own bowling, which would have finished off the game.
After starting under Nasser Hussain (also his interviewer at the end) in a team that still had the likes of Michael Vaughan and Alec Stewart to playing with debutants Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith in his final Test, James Anderson has had 109 team-mates in Test cricket. James Anderson was part of 83 of England’s Test wins including the ones that won them an Away Ashes in 2010/11, after a 24-year drought, and a 2-1 series win in India in 2012 – which is the last instance of an away team beating India in India.
The 41-year-old crossed Ian Botham’s tally of 383 wickets in 2015 to become the highest wicket-taker for England. He crossed Glenn McGrath’s 563 victims in 2018 to become the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Tests, but Anderson’s 704 is highly unlikely to be overhauled by any bowler anytime soon.
James Anderson said he “could not be more proud” to be permanently associated with the Test rivalry between England and India, after the ECB and BCCI chose to put his name to the new series trophy, alongside that of his former rival and fellow record-breaker Sachin Tendulkar.
James Anderson is honoured to share name with Sachin Tendulkar
Legendary fast bowler James Anderson expressed gratitude for being linked to the upcoming Test series between England and India. The highest wicket-taking pacer in Test history, Anderson was honoured alongside batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, and the series is set to be renamed in recognition of the two greats. The BCCI and ECB took the big call by deciding to replace the long-standing Pataudi Trophy with the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy ahead of the Test series in England.
James Anderson and Tendulkar engaged in numerous memorable on-field battles in red-ball cricket, ultimately retiring as legends in their respective disciplines.
The English legend was ecstatic to get the honour and shared it with someone like Sachin, whom he said he looked up to while growing up.
“It’s a huge honour,” James Anderson told ESPNcricinfo during a DP World event at Lord’s.
“I still can’t quite believe it. Sachin is someone I looked up to when I was growing up, though I don’t want to do him a disservice with his age,” he added.
Anderson heaped praise on Sachin Tendulkar and said he is proud of this honour.
“I remember watching him, an absolute legend of the game, and I played against him a lot as well. So to have this trophy is a huge honour for me, and I couldn’t be more proud,” he added.
James Anderson, fresh off his retirement after an extraordinary 188-Test career, is hailed as England’s greatest fast bowler. On the other side stands Sachin Tendulkar, the iconic Indian batter who redefined greatness with 200 Test appearances before calling time on his career in 2013.
No players in Test history have taken the field more times than Tendulkar (200 caps) and James Anderson (188), with Tendulkar’s haul of 15,921 runs also a record. James Anderson, meanwhile, is the format’s most prolific fast bowler, with the last of his 704 wickets coming against West Indies at Lord’s last July.
The pair’s longevity meant their combined careers spanned 35 years, from Tendulkar’s Test debut as a 16-year-old in 1989, to James Anderson’s farewell on the eve of his 42nd birthday last year. Their paths crossed on the Test field on 14 occasions between 2006 and 2012, with James Anderson dismissing Tendulkar nine times.
In the course of his 21-year Test career, James Anderson claimed more wickets against India than any other Test nation, with a total of 149 at 25.47 in 39 appearances. His highlights included a key role in a famous win in Mumbai in 2005-06, as well as back-to-back series wins at home and away in 2011 and 2012-13, the first of which lifted England to No.1 in the ICC Test rankings.
However, he also played in five series losses against India, four of them away from home including his final overseas campaign in 2024, in which he claimed his 700th Test wicket in Dharamsala.
Looking ahead to the first edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, he anticipated another tough contest, to rival the last India tour of England three years ago, which finished 2-2 after the final Test was postponed by 12 months due to Covid.
“This series is going to be exactly the same as you’d expect,” Anderson said.
“I know India are going through a little bit of change with a new captain [Shubman Gill], and losing [Virat] Kohli and [Rohit] Sharma, but I still think they’ve got a strong squad with some really exciting players. England obviously are trying to play a certain way. It lends itself to a really exciting series.” he concluded