Knighthood adds greatest honour in James Anderson’s record-breaking career
The former England seamer has been recognised for his 704 Test wickets in 22 years of representing his country.
Age and injuries for a long time proved insufficient roadblocks as James Anderson set new stratospheric benchmarks, first for England then fast bowlers around the world.
Father Time finally caught up with the evergreen swing king last year. Though still going in the County Championship with Lancashire, the Lord’s Test against the West Indies last July proved the final appearance of his international career, but he has earned one final gong with the awarding of a knighthood in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.
What an England career it was. Nearly 22 years of hard graft in which he sent down 40,037 Test deliveries and was rewarded with 704 wickets, both records for non-spinners. He is likely to be at the summit for a long time, especially with his closest challenger Stuart Broad also bowing out last year.
It is doubtful Anderson would be where he is without Broad, who owes just as much of his success to the Lancastrian. The pair are indelibly linked and their partnership fits comfortably alongside McGrath-Warne, Wasim-Waqar and Walsh-Ambrose as one of the best of all time.
There are those who seek to downplay their achievements, that their records are gilded in home conditions with more modest successes overseas. But statistics can obscure the bigger picture, with Anderson instrumental in England’s two greatest away victories in a generation.
Sir Alastair Cook hogged the limelight with his insatiable appetite for runs in the 2010-11 Ashes but the leading wicket-taker was Anderson, whose immaculate control and key breakthroughs led to him being described as “the major difference” by Mahendra Singh Dhoni when England beat India in 2012 in a series where all other quicks floundered.
