Veteran England paceman James Anderson has on Wednesday (June 2) become England's most-capped Test player alongside former captain Alastair Cook when he took the field in the first Test of the ongoing two-match Test series against New Zealand at Lord’s.
He is also on the verge of breaking Cook’s record to become England's most-capped Test player in the ongoing home series against New Zealand if he is selected for the second and final Test on June 10.
Anderson also needs just 6 more wickets to overtake Anil Kumble and become the third-highest wicket-taker in Test history and he can achieve the milestone in the ongoing home series.
The first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s is Anderson’s 161st appearance for England in the traditional format of the game on Wednesday, as the experienced pacer became the joint most-capped Test player along with Cook – who played 161 Tests for his country and so far held the record.
The first Test between England and New Zealand at the Lord's, starting Wednesday, can also see James Anderson become England's most-capped Test player. The pacer has played 160 Tests while the record stands with former skipper Alastair Cook as he played 161 games.
Anderson has so far taken 614 Test wickets from 160 games and the speedster will add to his tally more this summer in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand and then a five-match Test series against India followed by the Ashes 2021-2022 at the end of this year.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Anderson said in the LV Insurance launch video 'In With Heart' celebrating England's cricket community: “For a bowler to play this amount of games, I don't know what the word is, but it's a bit mind-blowing to me.”
The speedster is also close to the 1000-wicket mark in First-class cricket.
The 38-year-old pacer commented on the same, “It's a lot of wickets and in this day and age, I don't know if it's possible to get that many first-class wickets anymore. With the amount of cricket that's played there doesn't seem to be that longevity in bowlers and there's loads of T20 cricket and whatever else going on around the world. I'm just happy to still be here, to be honest.”
He signed off by saying, “It does make me feel proud. I never imagined in a million years I'd get to this point. I don't feel like I've played that many games. My body doesn't feel old or tired. I just absolutely love Test cricket, I've got a huge passion for it. Growing up, all I wanted to do is play Test cricket for England and I'm honored I've been able to do it for this long.”
(With ANI Inputs)
