England’s James Anderson Becomes First Pace Bowler to Reach 700 Test Wickets
James Anderson became the first fast bowler in Test history to reach 700 wickets, dismissing India’s Kuldeep Yadav on day three of the fifth Test here on Saturday.
The 41-year-old Anderson, a stalwart of English bowling for over two decades, joins spin legends Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (800) and Australia’s Shane Warne (708) as the only bowlers to have taken more Test wickets.
“It is a superb achievement,” said former England captain Sir Alastair Cook, who led Anderson in 49 Tests. “His hunger to get better and win games of cricket for England is unbelievable.”
Anderson’s closest pace bowling rival is his compatriot Stuart Broad, who retired last year with 604 wickets. The duo are the only fast bowlers to have surpassed 600 wickets, eclipsing Australia’s Glenn McGrath’s previous record of 563, which Anderson himself broke in 2018.
The veteran bowler has reached the milestone in 187 Tests, averaging 26.52 runs per wicket.
“At the foothills of the Himalayas, James Anderson has reached the insurmountable summit for a fast bowler in Test match cricket,” said former England seamer Steven Finn. “Nobody will ever take more than 700 Test wickets as a fast bowler.”
Anderson has enjoyed success both at home (434 wickets) and overseas (266 wickets). He has been particularly effective against Australia in the Ashes series, claiming 117 wickets, with 68 coming in their backyard.
His Test career began in May 2003 against Zimbabwe at Lord’s, where he dismissed opener Mark Vermuelen in his third over. Since then, he has taken at least 50 wickets in a year on three occasions – 2010 (57 wickets), 2013 (50 wickets), and 2017 (52 wickets).
James Anderson has enjoyed the most success against India in Test cricket, dismissing their batsmen 149 times – a higher tally than any other nation. Notably, 44 of these wickets came in Tests played on Indian soil, averaging 30.27 runs per dismissal.
Looking at his overall record, Anderson has taken a significant portion of his wickets (434) at home. He has been just as effective overseas, claiming 266 wickets, with a particularly impressive average of 27.51 in Asia (where he has dismissed 92 batsmen).
While his initial years were marked by inconsistency, Anderson established himself as a regular from 2008 onwards, forming a potent opening bowling partnership with Broad. However, his future looked uncertain after being dropped for the West Indies tour in March 2022.
The arrival of Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach later that year saw both Anderson and Broad recalled.
Anderson also represented England in 194 One-Day Internationals between 2002 and 2015, taking 269 wickets. He has 19 wickets in 18 T20 Internationals.
