Veteran fast bowler James Anderson retired from international cricket in some style as England thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs on Day 3 of the first Test at Lord's on Friday. The career came to a close for Anderson in his 188th and final Test match for England with 704 wickets, highest by any fast bowler in Test history, four short of late Shane Warne's record.
Making his debut, pacer Gus Atkinson achieved impressive match figures of 12-106, helping England secure a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Anderson's tally could have reached 705 if he had caught a return catch from Gudakesh Motie in the 44th over when the West Indies were nine wickets down in their second innings.
Anderson was honored with a guard of honour from both teams as the West Indies resumed play at 79-6, trailing by 171 runs. He soon set the stage for England’s victory by having Joshua Da Silva (9) caught behind.
Atkinson further dismantled the West Indies' batting lineup, dismissing Alzarri Joseph (8) with a bouncer, bowling out Shamar Joseph (3), and having Jayden Seales (8) caught at deep square-leg, finishing with figures of 5-61. With this, the match ended and so did Anderson's glorious 21-year Test career.
Anderson got a final guard of honour from all England and West Indies players, thus making it a moment he would remember walking into international retirement. He will now join England in the role of a fast-bowling mentor for the remainder of the Test summer.
This win at Lord's was England's fourth win in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. They now stand at 33 points with a points percentage of 25 percent, while placing them level with South Africa and Bangladesh in the lower half of the standings.
Brief scores:
England 371 (Zak Crawley 76; Jayden Seales 4-77) beat West Indies 121 & 136 in 47 overs (Gus Atkinson 5-61, James Anderson 3-32) by an innings and 114 runs
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