James Anderson takes 650 test wickets
Highlights
- Anderson's best bowling figures in Test match is 11/71
- Jimmy Anderson has also played 19 T20Is for England and has claimed 18 wickets
- Anderson hit the 600 Test wickets mark last year against Pakistan
Whenever England's old horse James Anderson runs into bowl, records just tumble. In the ongoing Test match between England and New Zealand, James Anderson claimed his 650th Test scalp in the form of New Zealand skipper Tom Latham. Jimmy Anderson is the first pace bowler to achieve this historic feat and is only behind Sri Lankan legend Muralidaran with 800 wickets and Australian legend Warne with 708 wickets. The only pacer apart from Anderson to make it to the top five wicket takers in test history is McGrath with 563 wickets.
The Lancashire-born bowler who made his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Lord's on May 22, 2003, has played 171 Test matches for England now and is in no mood to give up. What surprises people is that James Anderson was completely written off in the early stages of his career and was considered too soft but since 2007, Anderson made significant changes to his game and has troubled every single opposition he has faced. The English Test veteran has also played 194 ODIs and has claimed 269 wickets with the best figures of 5/23. Jimmy Anderson achieved the historic feat of becoming England's leading ODI wicket-taker when he went past Darren Gough to claim his 235th wicket during the ongoing 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
As of now, it seems like Anderson is breaking records for fun as he is eyeing Warne's record of 708 wickets. Before this, the English bowler became the first fast bowler to claim 600 wickets when he dismissed Pakistan's captain Azhar Ali on the fifth day of the third and final Test at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton.
