501 ...AND COUNTING FOR KING JAMES
Anderson makes history but there’s so much more to come from our Swingball Wizard
MIDDLE stump askew in drunken surrender, it was the delivery which set James Anderson poles apart.
Some 5,222 days after he castled Zimbabwe’s Mark Vermeulen on the same ground to open his account in 2003 as a 20-year-old, Anderson became only the sixth man in history to take 500 Test wickets.
The inswinger that took Anderson to the magic 500 mark was too good for Kraigg Brathwaite’s defence, which was as much use as a sand castle with the tide coming in.
West Indies had only chipped six runs off their 71-run firstinnings deficit when Anderson speared the new ball through Brathwaite’s open barn door to join Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh in an elite band of Test bowlers.
The crowd gave him a two-minute ovation to mark a moment in time for English cricket.
He said: “It’s too early to reflect on what it means, but I felt a bit emotional because my family were all here – my mum and dad, the missus and our kids – and that made it very special. And it was an amazing feeling to see what it meant to the other players and how pleased they were for me. “I had a taste of international cricket early on and playing for England is all I’ve ever wanted to do. “There have been dark times when I’ve been injured or left out of the side, but I knew I had some skills to offer. “I still feel fit, I’m bowling well and if I can keep going for another couple of years, I might pick up a few more wickets.
“Milestones are nice, but that’s not what drives me on. I want to help England win matches.”
Anderson has already snaffled the match ball which wrecked Brathwaite’s stumps and he produced an even better cherry for scalp No.501 to get rid of Kieran Powell.
After two days of mainly poor batting, the Windies are 93-3, only 22 runs in front with seven wickets standing.
Resuming at 46-4, England were indebted to Ben Stokes’ half-century and Stuart Broad carving two sixes in a carefree 38 for their first-innings advantage.