Steve Harmison has praised the ‘legend’ James Anderson after the England bowler became the primary seamer in history to take 700 Test wickets.
Anderson began day three at Dharamsala on 699 wickets before dismissing tailender Kuldeep Yadav to bring up the historic milestone.
The Lancashire pace bowler made his England debut against Zimbabwe in 2003, before becoming an ever-present from 2008 onwards.
His tally of 187 Test matches is the second most in history behind only Sachin Tendulkar’s 200, and in reaching the 700 wickets he joined Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne because the only other bowlers to have achieved the feat.
“He’s someone I’ve spent a whole lot of time with,” said Harmison, who played 18 Test matches with Anderson from 2003 to 2009. “And to see him go on and grow to be this iconic figure of English cricket and world cricket and to see him have his individual day within the highlight makes it all of the more special.”
Anderson, 41, is England’s leading wicket taker in Test cricket by 96 wickets, together with his longtime teammate Stuart Broad second with 604. No other English cricketer has taken greater than 400 with Ian Botham in third place with 383.
Anderson has taken 434 of his wickets at home and 266 overseas, at an overall average of 26.52. His best figures are 7-42 that he took against the West Indies at Lord’s in 2017, one among 32 profession five-wicket hauls.
“He’s a beautiful character and is someone who’s longevity won’t ever ever be beaten. This has been an iconic day for English cricket because nobody will get near 700 Test wickets in the longer term.
“A proud day for the Anderson family, a proud day for English cricket because an absolute legend has gone past a milestone that nobody else will get anywhere near.”
It was a highlight in an otherwise disappointing Test match for England as they were beaten by an innings and 64 runs.
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That loss sees them head back home after a 4-1 series defeat.
