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.
On the morning of the second day of the Lord’s Ashes Test in 2015, James Anderson was late getting to the ground. He was not alone: Joe Root, Mark Wood and the designated driver Stuart Broad were also behind schedule.
Australia were 337 for 1 overnight, with Steve Smith and Chris Rogers already boasting hundreds. The motivation to get to the ground on time to warm those aching joints after 90 overs in the dirt was hardly through the roof. So, the quartet did a few laps of Regent’s Park while Anderson queued up James Bay’s “Hold Back The River” on repeat, belted out louder with each rendition to the bemusement of fellow Friday commuters. Australia went on to win by 405 runs.
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.
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.
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.
The veteran bowler, who made his Test debut under Nasser Hussain in 2003 at this very venue, was nudged into bringing the curtains down following an appraisal meeting in a Manchester hotel with Ben Stokes (Test captain), Brendon McCullum (coach) and Rob Key (ECB’s Director of Cricket) in May.
In that meeting, the trio informed James Anderson that they planned on picking fast bowlers that are likely to feature in the 2025 winter Ashes tour of Australia. Before that meeting, James Anderson said he hadn’t thought about how he’d end his England career.
James Anderson extends England consultant role until Pakistan, New Zealand tours in 2024
Former fast bowler James Anderson and that he will stay as the bowling consultant for the England men’s team until the tours of Pakistan and New Zealand later this year. James Anderson, who is the only fast bowler with 700 Test wickets, retired from international cricket earlier this year after the Lord’s Test against the West Indies.
Immediately after he hung his boots, James Anderson joined the Three Lions as their bowling mentor. James Anderson said that he doesn’t want to look too far ahead as he’s still learning the tricks of the trade in coaching. James Anderson talked about his extension before England’s third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Kennington Oval in London.
“At the minute, I’m due to go to Pakistan and New Zealand in the winter. Then nothing concrete after that,” Anderson was quoted as saying to Sky Sports.
“I’m very new to this, I’m still learning as we go. It’s partly me trying to figure out if this is where I want to go with the next stage of my career and also for them to figure out if I’m any good at it as well,” Anderson added.
Team England’s future post James Anderson
After Anderson stepped away from international cricket, the likes of Josh Hull and Gus Atkinson have taken over. In fact, Atkinson made his debut on Anderson’s farewell Test. Atkinson already has three five-wicket hauls to his name, all of which have come at the Lord’s.
Hull made his debut against Sri Lanka in the third Test. He is a part of the pace attack that also has Atkinson, Olly Stone and the experienced Chris Woakes.
As far as England are concerned, they had a decent day after Day 1 at 221 for the loss of three wickets. Ollie Pope, who was going through a tough patch, stayed not out on 103 at a run-a-ball with 13 fours and two sixes.