James Anderson achieved yet another milestone as he picked up his 700th Test wicket. Kuldeep Yadav was the veteran pacer’s 700th victim as Anderson struck for the second time on Day 3 of IND vs ENG 5th Test. Earlier, Anderson moved to 699 after getting rid of centurion Shubman Gill, sending his stumps crashing.
James Anderson picks up 700th Test wicket
With this feat, Anderson solidifies his spot as the 3rd highest wicket-taker in Tests. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) are above the England pacer on the list. Anderson is the only pacer in the top three, with no active pacer featuring in the top ten.
The story of Anderson’s 700
21 years! That’s how long James Anderson took to reach the milestone of the 700th wicket if he manages to do so in Dharamshala. It was in 2003 when a brown-blond-haired 20-year-old kid from Burnley claimed a maiden five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe. More than two decades later, he’s still going.
After 21 years, he has played the second most Test matches (186) by a player. He is the third-highest wicket-taker, has 32 four-wicket and five-wicket hauls, and 3 ten-wicket hauls. He has become the most-capped pacer bowler and has bowled the fourth most balls in Test history. He played with players younger than his international cricket career (Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir).