England off-spinner Dom Bess has heaped praise on James Anderson after the veteran speedster completed his 29th five-wicket haul in Tests to come an inch closer to creating history on Day 3 of the ongoing third and final Test against Pakistan on Sunday (August 23) in Southampton.
Anderson, England’s all-time highest Test wicket-taker, is now just two scalps away from becoming the first fast bowler to claim 600 wickets in Test cricket following his latest stunning bowling display on Sunday (August 23) at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton against Pakistan. The 38-year-old’s latest five-wicket haul took his tally to 598 scalps in the Test cricket.
In the longest format of the game, Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan is leading the chart with 800 Test scalps followed by Australia’s Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619) – all of them are spinners, but now Anderson is set to create history in the final Test against Pakistan.
After the end of Day three’s play in Southampton, Bess has hailed Anderson as “the GOAT of bowling” and the greatest English player of all time on Sunday.
Bess said: “He’s the GOAT of bowling and England’s greatest. It’s phenomenal to stand at the point and watch him, nick people, off, hit people on the shins and take as many poles as he does, so consistently.”
He signed off by saying, “There was chat about a potential retirement (recently), then he comes back and absolutely tears it up. It just shows how good he is.”
The veteran pacer’s fifer at the Ageas Bowl also helped England to take a massive 310-run first-innings lead as well as boost their chances to seal their first Test series win over Pakistan since 2010.
(With Reuters Inputs)
