Dharmasala: England veteran James Anderson added another glorious chapter to his remarkable tale of longevity when he became the first pacer and third bowler to take 700 Test wickets here on Saturday.
Anderson reached the milestone in his 187th Test by removing India’s Kuldeep Yadav caught behind on day three of the fifth Test here. He lured the Indian tail-ender into a drive and induced the outside edge.
The 41-year-old was on 699 scalps overnight after dismissing Shubman Gill with a beauty on day one.
Anderson, who is the oldest player in Test history, started his Test career in 2002 against Zimbabwe and has been troubling batters with his menacing swing from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting to Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson.
He has achieved a feat that no other pacer can dream of. The closest to his record wickets is his compatriot Stuart Broad, who has already retired from Test cricket.
- Jacques Kallis, South Africa (2008) – 100th wicket
- Peter Siddle, Australia (2010) – 200th wicket
- Peter Fulton, New Zealand (2013) – 300th wicket
- Martin Guptill, New Zealand (2015) – 400th wicket
- Kraigg Braithwaite, West Indies (2017) – 500th wicket
- Azhar Ali, Pakistan (2020) – 600th wicket
- Kuldeep Yadav, India (2024)- 700th wicket
Overall, Anderson is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. The two bowlers above him are spinners — Muthaiah Muralidharan and Shane Warne.
