James Anderson becomes first pacer to take 700 Test wickets

Even as England are down on the mat in the fifth and final Test match against India in Dharamshala, James Anderson has entered the record books by becoming the first pace bowler to reach 700 Test wickets. The 41-year-old pacer achieved the historic feat on the third day of the fifth Test at Dharamsala by dismissing India’s Kuldeep Yadav.

After Australian Shane Warne and Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, Anderson is third on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.

The closest fast bowler on the list is another Englaishman Stuart Broad, who retired in July 2023 after scalping 604 wickets.

Anderson and Broad are the only pace bowlers to achieve 600 wickets. The previous record was held by legandary Australian pacer Glenn McGrath who has 563 wickets against him name, a record which Anderson surpassed in 2018.

At an average of 26.52, Anderson took 187 Tests to attain the milestone of 700 wickets.

Of his 700 wickets, Anderson has claimed 434 at home and 266 abroad.

Australia is his most successful nation outside of the UK, with a total of 117 wickets taken in Ashes Test matches, 68 of which have come from down under.

Andreson donned the white unform for England for the first timer in May 2003 at Lord’s against Zimbabwe, taking the wicket of opener Mark Vermuelen in his third over.

After a 22-year career, Anderson’s best year was 2010, during which he claimed 57 wickets. In 2013 and 2017, he was the only bowler to capture 50 wickets in a single year.

After taking 26 wickets in his 2003 debut season, Anderson only managed 36 over the next four years as he first struggled to establish himself until turning into a regular for the England team from 2008.

Since then, the right-arm pacer has been a reliable bowler, but in March 2022, he was left out of the squad for the West Indies tour, casting doubt on his future as an international player.

Later that year, when Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and head coach, they called him back into action.

Anderson also has 269 wickets in 194 One-Day Internationals for England between 2002 and 2015 and collected 19 wickets in 18 Twenty20 Internationals.