James Anderson retires with 704 Test wickets, taking one final wicket in his last match as England secures a dominant win over West Indies by an innings and 114 runs.
Bollywood Fever: England’s James Anderson brought down the curtain on his stellar international career by taking a wicket against West Indies on the third day of the first test at Lord’s on Friday. His final performance helped his side secure a comfortable win by an innings and 114 runs.
Anderson, looking uncharacteristically emotional, walked out to a guard of honour and a standing ovation from the crowd in his 188th and final test. However, the seamer quickly focused on his game and dismissed Joshua Da Silva (9) in his second over of the day, finding just enough movement to draw the outside edge and pick up his 704th test wicket, finishing with match figures of 4-58.
The 41-year-old retires with a record number of test wickets by an England bowler and the most by any seam bowler. He is third on the all-time list for test wickets, behind Australian Shane Warne (708) and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800).

Clutching a pint of Guinness in the dressing room, Anderson told Sky Sports he was still trying to hold back tears at the end of his final match. “This morning was quite emotional with the two teams lined up and the reaction from the crowd was pretty special,” he said. Playing for England is the best job in the world. I’ve been privileged to do it for a long time.”
England captain Ben Stokes praised the team’s performance, particularly debutants Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith. “We dominated the game,” Stokes said. “But we had to work really hard for that. We went through periods where we had to make things happen. So we are very pleased.”
Despite Anderson’s farewell drawing the headlines, the match was largely one-sided, with England wrapping up victory in just over two days of play. Anderson’s fourth wicket of the match further dented West Indies’ slim chances of making England bat again, with the visitors collapsing to 121 all out on the first day.
Gus Atkinson delivered a man-of-the-match performance, showcasing genuine pace and taking two five-wicket hauls on his test debut. With an unlikely 171 runs needed to make England bat again, Alzarri Joseph (8) went down swinging, hitting Atkinson for four before top-edging to Ben Duckett, giving Atkinson his 10th wicket of the match.
Shamar Joseph (3) was clean bowled by Atkinson, who finished with match figures of 12-106. Gudakesh Motie offered some resistance with an unbeaten 31, the highest individual score for West Indies in the match. Motie also drove Atkinson to the cover boundary, prompting a full-length dive from Anderson to save a single run.
Motie then nearly handed Anderson his 705th test wicket, driving the ball straight back to the bowler, who spilled it. Anderson did not get another chance for a final wicket, and Atkinson wrapped things up when Jayden Seales (8) holed out to Duckett, leaving West Indies all out for 136.
West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite expressed disappointment but remained focused on the upcoming tests. “Disappointed, but it’s gone now,” he told reporters. “We have two test matches left in this series and we have got to look ahead and we have got to stay mentally tough.”
The second test of the series is set to start at Trent Bridge next Thursday.
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