'One of the best bowlers I've faced': Virat Kohli and others react to James Anderson's 600 Test wickets
England’s James Anderson became just the fourth bowler and only the first fast-bowler to take 600 Test wickets when he sent back Pakistan captain Azhar Ali in the third Test at Southampton.
The only bowlers with more Test wickets than James Anderson are all spinners – Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets), Australia’s Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619).
James Anderson achieved the feat with his 14th ball of the fifth day. The landmark wicket came after quite a few dropped catches and rain-delayed games.
Due to several catches which were dropped off his bowling, James Anderson could not surpass Muttiah Muralitharan’s record of being the fastest to the 600-wicket landmark (in terms of the number of balls bowled). However, he is still the second-fastest to achieve the feat.
He took a total of 33717 deliveries to claim his 600th wicket as compared to Muttiah Muralitharan (33711), Shane Warne (34919) and Anil Kumble (38494).
The 38-year-old picked up three wickets in the second Test in which Pakistan crumbled for 236 after winning the toss and choosing to bat. The match ended in a draw due to bad light and rain, with both teams playing just one inning each.
Speaking after achieving the feat, Anderson said:
"I didn't bowl as well as I'd have liked for the whole summer. But in this Test I was really on it and I feel like I've still got stuff to offer this team. As long as I still feel like that I think I'll keep going. I don't think I've won my last Test matches as an England cricketer yet."
He cheekily added:
"Can I reach 700? Why not?"
James Anderson has given most of his career to Test cricket
James Anderson last played an ODI at the 2015 World Cup, after which he turned his focus to Test cricket. In the shortest format, he has played only 44 games.
Having made his debut in 2002, James Anderson has played 194 ODIs, 19 T20Is and 156 Tests. In ODIs and T20Is, he has 169 and 18 wickets, respectively.
Here's how Twitter reacted to his 600 wickets: