The veteran speedster James Anderson has bid adieu to Test cricket for England after bagging 704 wickets from 40037 deliveries. Earlier, Anderson announced his decision to retire from Test cricket with the first Test of the West Indies tour of England 2024.
James Anderson retires from Test Cricket
James Anderson made his last appearance for England in a Test match on July 12 in a match against West Indies at Lord’s, London. Anderson ended his Test career in a winning clause as England thrashed West Indies by an inning and 114 runs.
In his last red-ball match, James Anderson bagged four wickets and assisted his side to make a lead in the three-match test series. Gus Atkinson completed his five-fer in the second innings and finished the match with 12 wickets on his debut.
Anderson remained a nightmare for many current and former cricketers. Anderson, 41, finished his glorious career with 704 wickets in 188 Test matches, the third-best figures after legendary spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
Speaking of his last test match, England won the toss and opted to bowl first where Gus Atkinson with his seven wickets haul contained West Indies for 121 while England batters scored 371 runs for 10 wickets loss in their 1st inning where five players scored reached their half-century mark each.
In the second inning, Windies batters struggled to stand against England’s bowling attack and started to lose wickets before making an impact. Gudakesh Motie’s 31 is the team’s highest individual run as West Indies folded out for 136 and lost the game. With the victory, the hosts took a lead in the three-match test series.
While speaking at the post-match presentation, James Anderson said “It’s been an amazing 20 years. Overwhelming to see the crowd reaction. It has been pretty special. Every time I wear this shirt I tried to win games for England. Has been different. Emotions have been up and down. Seeing my girls ring the bell on Day 1”.
“It has been an amazing 20 years. You can’t have a long career without the support network behind you. It’s the familys journey as well as it is ours. As I mentioned, winnings series and Test matches are the only thing I will be interested in”.
“Winning in Australia, India and contributing to those wins is really, really special. It does hurt, but I have never really walked away from my responsibilities. The amount of emotions you go through in the game, the ups and downs Test cricket throws. When the captain throws you the ball at 6PM you have to show character”.
“Managing people, working in partnerships have helped me away from cricket as well. Certainly for me it has been a while I played white ball cricket but for me Test cricket feels like the perfect game and the satisfaction you get after 3-4 days”.
“White ball cricket has been amazing for the game of cricket and it will continue to be. He has been magnificent. Amazing week he has had. He went to India in the winter and didn’t play a game. I think he is going to be an amazing cricketer”.
Goodbye’s don’t come any harder ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UfbkFdyEe3
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 12, 2024
