Southampton: England pacer James Anderson became the first fast-bowler to take 600 Test wickets after he dismissed Pakistan, captain Azhar Ali, on Tuesday (August 25), the final day of the 3rd Test match.
6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 25, 2020
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/fL9aifFjyV#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/jjNlyM1Ty6
Former Australian fast-bowler Glenn McGrath compared between Anderson and legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar, saying that Jimmy has set the level for fast bowling as high as Tendulkar did for batting. “He’s set the bar a bit like Sachin has. No one is ever going to catch Sachin in Test cricket for the amount of runs he’s scored (15,291) and the matches he’s played (200). Jimmy has done the same for fast bowling,” McGrath was quoted as saying to BBC.
“I didn’t have the skill level Jimmy has. When he’s swinging that ball, both ways, in control, there’s no one better,” the legendary bowler further added. Anderson became the fourth bowler in the world and the first pacer to take 600 Test wickets. The others in the list include Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Australia’s Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619).
6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Test wickets for Jimmy Anderson 🎉🎉🎉
— ICC (@ICC) August 25, 2020
He becomes the first fast bowler to ever reach the mark!#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/QCaEzxm4NS
In 2016, during the second Test of England-Pakistan series at Old Trafford, he became the first fast bowler to take 50 wickets against all other seven major Test-playing nations — Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
In 2019, in the first Test against South Africa, Anderson became the ninth cricketer to play in 150 Test matches. In 2020, in the second Test of the series against South Africa, Anderson took his 28th five-wicket haul in Test cricket surpassing Sir Ian Botham’s record of 27, to become the bowler with the most five-wicket hauls for England in Test cricket.
