London (England): When England will host West Indies for the first Test of the three-match series between the two, the game will have a lot of significance. James Anderson will leave behind his legacy as he will retire from international cricket after the match. England will aim to pay tribute to their veteran pacer with a victory but more than that Anderson will be keen on playing a key role in the team’s win.
Although it is his last game, Anderson can still achieve a lot. The 41-year-old has an opportunity to break multiple records in the match and if he does so, the farewell game will become more special for him.
Currently, Anderson has picked 700 wickets from 187 Test matches. In the match, he will have an opportunity to overtake former Australian spinner Shane Warne who had taken 708 wickets from 145 matches. Nine wickets more and the English pacer will end his career at the second spot in the list of bowlers who have taken most wickets in the red-ball cricket.
Also, the right-arm pacer has scalped 987 wickets in international cricket and his tally includes 700 Test scalps, 269 ODI wickets and 18 T20I dismissals. He needs 13 more wickets to become only the third bowler to take 1000 wickets and the first pacer across the globe. Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has taken 1347 international wickets while Shane Warne has 1001 dismissals to his name.
In case Anderson gets a five-wicket haul in the match, he will grab the joint sixth position in the list of bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in international cricket by doing so on 35 occasions. Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younus and Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath are the other two who have 35 five-wicket hauls to their name in international cricket.
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