[Watch] James Anderson gets emotional ahead of his farewell game as his daughters ring bell at Lord’s before ENG vs WI 1st Test
England ace pacer James Anderson got emotional on his farewell Test as his daughters Lola and Ruby rang the bell at Lord’s ahead of the opening Test against West Indies in London on Wednesday, July 10. Anderson confirmed his retirement ahead of the three-match Test series. He will immediately join the team as a mentor following the first Test.
In a video shared by England Cricket’s official handle on X, Anderson was seen emotional as his daughters rang the ball while the players and fans clapped for him after national anthems.
Watch the video below:
James Anderson will retire as the most wicket-taker among pacers in Tests. Having made his Test debut in 2003, the 41-year-old has scalped 700 wickets in 187 Tests. He will look to surpass the Australian spinner Shane Warne, who holds the record for second-most Test wickets (708). Sri Lanka’s legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is on top of the tally with 800 wickets in the red-ball format.
Overall, Anderson has the third-most wickets in international cricket. The speedster has 987 scalps in 400 matches across formats. He is only behind Warne (1001 in 339) and Muralitharan (1347 in 495).
“England’s greatest by a good mile” – Michael Vaughan lauds James Anderson ahead of farewell Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan recently lauded James Anderson for his two-decade-long career. Vaughan picked him as England’s greatest cricketer and top 10 players in the sport of all time. The cricketer-turned-commentator told Club Prairie podcast:
"In international cricket, I think he has got 987 polls. He could easily be up there. He is certainly England's greatest by a good mile or two because Stuart Broad is close and the likes of Freddie Trueman back in the day were outstanding. I think he is in the top 10 cricketers of all time."
The Ben Stokes-led side would hope to give a fitting farewell to Anderson in his last Test. Anderson’s retirement comes a year after his partner-in-crime Stuart Broad retired after the 2023 Ashes.
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