England’s Test captain Ben Stokes made an emotional and glowing tribute to his retiring team-mate James Anderson after the hosts wrapped up a convincing win over the West Indies at Lord’s.
Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, took one wicket on the third morning as Stokes’ men wrapped up a win by an innings and 114 runs.
Anderson made his Test debut at the home of cricket in 2003, when Gus Atkinson was just five years old, and over his illustrious career earned 704 scalps, third on the all-time list behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).
“Jimmy has been an incredible inspiration to so many people,” Stokes said.
“So many young people have looked up to him and wanted to emulate his career, which I’m sure is going to be very hard to do.
“The amount of games he’s played and the amount of wickets he’s taken, it’s just absolutely phenomenal. We’re very lucky that we’re able to keep Jimmy in the dressing room.
“All the talk about our young bowlers, Gus coming in, Dillon [Pennington], [Matthew] Potts, and all the other guys who will get the chance over the summer to have someone like Jimmy Anderson talking to them and offloading his learnings over his career is great for us going forward.
“Sometimes you can be a bit lost for words and if you gave me 15 minutes I still wouldn’t be able to compliment him enough.
“He’s 41 years old and still always looking to improve himself as a bowler. If you look at how his career has gone, he’s just gotten better and better and that’s a testament to his desire to always want to get better.
“He’s always wanted to contribute to the team and every single time he’s walked out on to the field, he’s done that. He’s a great person to look up to.”
Michael Atherton looked back at Anderson’s incredible career and paid tribute to England’s greatest ever bowler following his retirement from Test cricket
England’s debutant Atkinson (12-106) became the first bowler to take a 10-wicket haul on debut in 48 years.
The 26-year-old also joined the distinguished company of Tom Hartley (vs India, 2024), Josh Tongue (vs Australia, 2023), Rehan Ahmed (vs Pakistan, 2023) and Will Jacks (vs Pakistan, 2022) as England players who have recently taken a five-for on debut, with Atkinson going two scalps further on the first day of the Lord’s Test.
As tributes from pundits and players flowed in, a picture of a young Atkinson resurfaced where he is sandwiched between Anderson and Andrew Flintoff in 2007 in the West Indies.
Fast-forward 17 years later, Atkinson is making his England debut in the same series Anderson is signing off.
Stuart Broad couldn’t believe it as Anderson missed a relatively simple catch which would have given him the final wicket of his Test career
“It’s been an incredible week. I just want to say thanks to Jimmy, playing here in his last Test has been incredible,” said Atkinson.
“Growing up, Jimmy was someone I’d come here to Lord’s and watch, and standing at mid-off I was looking at Jimmy running in thinking I’d seen that so many times on the TV, so it was amazing.
“What’s so good with this group is you’re allowed to come in and be the player you want to be, and it’s helped me massively. To come out and do so well this week is fantastic.”
Broad: Anderson still looked as good as ever
Highlights from day three of the first Test between England and West Indies
Former England player Stuart Broad believes Anderson still looked in immaculate form as he picked up four wickets during his final Test.
“Watching him this week, how I felt is he still looks as good as ever and it’s such a nice way to finish and walk off the field, knowing you can still do it,” Broad told Sky Sports.
“It was wonderful to see him still do what he’s done for 188 Test matches and walk off with a victory.
“Regardless of the wickets and the amount he’s played, to Jimmy it’s always been about those moments in the changing room of winning a Test match with the group of people you’re with.
“For him, looking back now as a former Test cricketers, the games he’s won have been outstanding. To win his last Test match is incredible.”
Anderson was given an emotional guard of honour by both sets of players and led his side back to the dressing room after the win
Those views were echoed by former West Indies bowler Ian Bishop, who hailed the impact Anderson has made on cricket globally as an influence on other seamers.
“There are so many things we’ve already talked about like his longevity and his fitness,” Bishop told Sky Sports.
“He’s gone where no fast bowler has gone before in terms of wickets, but from a skill perspective, the ability to swing the ball and be consistent with his length, the art of evolving over 20 years…I think he’s shifted the thinking in the game.
“He has shifted paradigms and dimensions for fast bowlers.
“This a sense of immortality here for James Anderson.”
Watch day one of the second Test between England and West Indies, from Trent Bridge in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday (first ball to be bowled at 11am).
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