Claiming landmark wicket during drubbing by India is fitting for a player who is still oddly full of fighting spirit
You could find a fun little fact wherever you looked. On commentary as Jimmy Anderson celebrated his milestone moment was his old pal Graeme Swann, who began his Test career five years after the quick and retired a decade ago; in-between that, the off-spinner became one of England’s greatest bowlers.
Alastair Cook, who made his Essex debut after Anderson’s first World Cup campaign, paid his tributes in the TNT studio. “What he’s done is a joke,” said the former England captain. Sat next to Cook was Steven Finn, who had a fine fast-bowling career himself, taking 125 Test wickets before the knee played up. Anderson took 156 before Finn’s first game and has 237 since his last. Finn marvelled at the achievement because he knows just how hard this thing is: the worn-out limbs, the physio on speed-dial, the lengthy grind that facilitates that fleeting and momentous eruption of an uprooted stump. “In the foothills of the Himalayas, he’s reached an insurmountable summit for a fast bowler in Test-match cricket,” Finn proclaimed.