James Anderson retirement: 5 cricket legends who played their first and last Test at the same venue
England legend James Anderson would be retiring from Test cricket after the first match of the three-game series against West Indies, which begins at Lord's on Wednesday, July 10. The right-arm pacer will walk away as one of the standout performers in red-ball cricket.
Having made his Test debut in May 2003, Anderson has featured in 187 matches and has claimed 700 wickets at an average of 26.52, with 32 five-fers and three 10-wicket match hauls. The England great holds the record for having claimed the most wickets by a fast bowler in Test cricket.
Even in the overall list, only Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) have more Test scalps than him. If Anderson manages to pick up nine wickets in his last match, he will surpass Warne and finish at No. 2 on the list of bowlers with the most scalps in Tests.
Incidentally, Anderson will play his last Test at the same venue where he made his debut - the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. On that note, we look at five other cricket legends who also started and ended their Test careers at the same venue.
#1 Shane Warne
Australia's late spin wizard Warne made his Test debut against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in January 1992. It was not a memorable debut for the Aussie youngster as he registered figures of 1-150 from 45 overs in the only innings that Australia bowled in the Test.
The debutant got the wicket for Ravi Shastri, but not before the Indian batter had hammered a double ton.
Overcoming a poor start, Warne went on to establish himself as one of the greats of the game. He finished his career with 708 wickets from 145 matches. His final Test at the SCG was against England in January 2007. The leg-spinner picked up two wickets in his farewell Test as Australia won the game by 10 wickets.
#2 Javed Miandad
Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad made his Test debut against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in October 1976. It was a sensational debut for the Pakistan legend, who scored 163 in the first innings and an unbeaten 25 in the second. Pakistan won the Test by six wickets.
Miandad ended up playing 124 Test matches, scoring 8832 runs at an average of 52.57, with 23 hundreds and 43 fifties. He ended his Test career against Zimbabwe in Lahore in December 1993. Miandad was dismissed for 31 in the first innings and did not bat in the second innings in the drawn Test.
#3 Dale Steyn
South Africa's fast bowling legend, Dale Steyn made his Test debut against England in Gqeberha in December 2004. The right-arm pacer picked up 2-117 in the first innings and 1-29 in the second as England went on to win the Test match by seven wickets.
Steyn ended up playing 93 Test matches in which he claimed 439 scalps at an average of 22.95, with 26 five-fers and five 10-wicket match hauls. The Proteas great played his last Test match against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha in February 2019. Steyn went wicketless in his last Test match as the Lankans registered a famous win by eight wickets.
#4 Ricky Ponting
One of the biggest batting stars in cricket history, Ricky Ponting made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Perth in December 1995. The former Australian captain narrowly missed out on a famous hundred on Test debut. He was dismissed for 96, trapped lbw by Chaminda Vaas, as the Aussies went on to register a thumping victory by an innings and 36 runs.
In a glorious career, Ponting played 168 matches, amassing 13378 runs at an average of 51.85, with 41 hundreds and 62 fifties. His last Test in Perth was against South Africa in November 2012. The right-handed batter was dismissed for 4 & 8 as the Proteas won the Test by 309 runs.
#5 Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith, who led South Africa's renaissance in cricket in the post-Hansie Cronje era, made his Test debut against Australia in Cape Town in March 2002. The left-handed batter was dismissed for 3 in the first innings but followed it up with a gritty 68 in the second even as South Africa went down by four wickets.
Smith went on to represent the Proteas in 117 Tests, amassing 9265 runs at an average of 48.25, with 27 hundreds and 38 fifties. The last Test of his career was also against Australia in Cape Town in March 2014. Leading South Africa, the southpaw was dismissed for 5 in the first innings and 3 in the second. It wasn't the fairy-tale end for Smith as Australia went on to win the Test by 245 runs.