Anderson makes Test history
CRICKET: See Pages 72-73
JAMES ANDERSON celebrated becoming the first seamer in Test history to claim 600 wickets last night — and immediately set his sights on helping England win back the Ashes in Australia in two winters’ time.
Anderson moved to the landmark when he had Pakistan captain Azhar Ali caught at slip by Joe Root on the last day of the drawn third Test, a result that gave England a 1-0 series win. And he said there was no reason, even at the age of 38, that he couldn’t go on to tick off 700.
‘I was just hoping and praying that it stuck,’ he said of Root’s catch, after four chances had gone down off his bowling.
‘I felt a little bit emotional, and I was very proud and happy to celebrate it with my good mates. I’m just delighted to have played for as long as I have. When I look back at my first Test, I would never have thought I’d get close to 600 wickets. I’m over the moon.’
Despite no more Test cricket scheduled this year, and doubts surrounding England’s planned trips to Sri Lanka and India early in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Anderson insisted he was as hungry as ever. Asked whether he could make it to 700, he simply replied: ‘Why not?’
Then there’s the question of the 2021-22 Ashes, which will end with Anderson a little over six months shy of his 40th birthday.
‘I’ve chatted to Rooty about this a bit and he has said he would like me to be in Australia,’ he said. ‘I don’t see any reason why I can’t be. I’m working hard on my fitness all the time. I didn’t bowl as well as I’d have liked for the whole summer, but this Test match I was really on it, and I feel like I’ve still got stuff to offer this team.
‘As long as I still feel like that, I think I’ll keep going.’
How Anderson has had to wait for his big moment, four dropped catches off his bowling on days three and four then a five-hour clearing up operation before he finally took his biggest step yet into Test history.
So bad has the weather at the Ageas Bowl been and so frustrating the delay that, word was, England’s players — even Anderson —would have been perfectly happy to call the whole thing off and shake hands on a 1-0 series victory. But how relieved they must now be that play was finally possible at 4.15pm, enough time for their record-breaker to claim his landmark victim without having to worry when his
next Test appearance might be.
The big moment came 21 minutes later off Anderson’s 14th delivery of the day when, gliding in smoothly as he has done so many thousands of times for England, the master craftsman found extra bounce to take the edge of Azhar Ali’s bat.
The ball flew just above the head of first slip where Root, rather than some of his more fallible team-mates, was thankfully waiting to grasp it.
Cue an expression of relief as much as pleasure for Anderson, who looked to the skies before running to embrace his captain, accepting the congratulations of the unlikely figure of substitute fielder James Bracey at short-leg along the way.
Anderson shook hands with his colleagues — we can forgive the lack of fist bumping in the circumstances — and raised the ball towards his dressing room and then the broadcasting centre which included three of the eight England captains he has played under — Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Sir Andrew Strauss.
It is such a shame so few were here but this really is a quite stunning achievement by that shy lad from Burnley who has gone on to usurp every seam bowler to play the game.
And it took him 33,717 deliveries to get there, just six balls more than the fastest man to reach 600 Test wickets in Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.
Anderson really should be able to catch the next man in the list of only three spinners above him in Anil Kumble, who stands on 619, but perhaps even the Lancastrian cannot reach Shane Warne’s total of 708 and Murali’s world-record 800 wickets. Can he? Anderson does look as good as ever, those rumours of his impending retirement after his self-confessed ‘bad game’ in the first Test against Pakistan looking absurd in the face of his highly skilful performance in this match. Yet, we should remember he had to overcome quite serious injury to be fit enough to play five out of the six Tests in this bio-secure summer and England really should bring back those plans for a future without him which have been shelved this season. There was time for Root to also take a wicket thanks to a good low catch by sub Bracey and then what was surely one of the worst overs in Test history from Dom Sibley before the players shook hands on a draw.
Afterwards, Root was full of praise for his senior fast bowler after completing his third successive series win, following victories in South Africa and at home to West Indies.
‘There’s no one that can touch him really,’ he said. ‘He’s that far ahead of everyone else in my opinion. It’s incredible what he’s done so far in the game, and he’s much more than just the wickets that you see on the telly. I couldn’t be happier for him.’
England’s player of the series Jos Buttler added: ‘I’m blown away by his longevity. He’s an inspiration for all of us in the dressing room. It’s just a shame there wasn’t a full house there to see one of England’s greats get to the landmark.’