Watch: James Anderson gets ’emotional’ after retiring from Test cricket

Star England pacer James Anderson brought down the curtain on his illustrious red-ball career with a fitting farewell at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on Friday.

Anderson, 41, called time on his remarkable career during the first Test between England and West Indies, which the home side won by an innings and 114 runs.

Anderson, widely regarded as one of the greatest red-ball pacers, retired with 704 wickets to his name, the third most in Test cricket history behind Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800).

He bagged four wickets in his final Test match, narrowly missing out on a “perfect ending” when he dropped a catch off Gudakesh Motie’s batting.

Emotions for a true legend of the game 🥲#LoveLords | #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/FMHduPBgT6

— Lord’s Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) July 12, 2024

As Anderson walked off the field at Lord’s for the last time, he was hailed by the crowd and both teams, bringing an end to a 21-year dominance in Test cricket.

The veteran pacer thanked the crowd for the memorable farewell.

“It’s been an amazing week, been overwhelmed with the reaction of the crowd and everyone around the ground,” Anderson told media. “I’m just proud of what I’ve achieved.”

hen asked about his future plans, the 41-year-old confirmed that he will stay with the team through the summer to help the young pacers as England continue to increase their position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table.

“I’m going to stick around for the rest of the summer with these guys, trying to help around with the bowling as much as I can. We’ll see where life takes me after that, I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Anderson said.