England veteran James Anderson on Thursday added another feather to his already illustrious hat as he became his country's most-capped Test cricketer.
The 38-year-old was tied with former skipper Alastair Cook on 161 caps before the start of the second and deciding Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston. Anderson currently has 616 Test wickets to his name -- the most by any England bowler. The tally is also more than any other paceman in the history of the game.
The Lancashire-born pacer, who made his international debut 18 years ago, also has a chance to surpass Indian leg-spin legend Anil Kumble in the list of most Test wickets.
Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) are the top two wicket-takers in Test history. Kumble is third on the list with 619 scalps, just three more than Anderson.
Anderson was also felicitated before the start of the Test, with the crowd at Edgbaston up its feet to applaud England's most-capped player. He was also presented with a special jersey with '162' on the back of it.
"18 years. 616 wickets. 162 Tests. Your skill, desire, and sacrifice continues to amaze us all. Our most capped Test cricketer ever. Congrats," wrote England Cricket on Twitter.
ICC also congratulated Anderson on achieving the feat. "162 not out! Congratulations to @jimmy9, who becomes England's most-capped Test player"
England, meanwhile, won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand. Olly Stone replaced Ollie Robinson in England XI while New Zealand made plenty of changes to their starting squad. Will Young, Tom Blundell, Daryl Mitchell, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult, and Matt Henry were included in New Zealand's Playing XI.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell(w), Daryl Mitchell, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult
England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Ollie Pope, Daniel Lawrence, James Bracey(w), Olly Stone, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
