England thrash West Indies as Anderson bows out

PAUL ELLIS/ AFP

James Anderson bowed out of international cricket on the winning side as England thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs on the third day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday.

This was the 41-year-old veteran's 188th and last Test before retiring from England duty, with Anderson's tally of 704 Test wickets the most taken by any fast bowler in the history of the format.

He looked uncharacteristically emotional before the start of play as he walked out to a guard of honour and a standing ovation from the crowd.

But the 41-year-old seamer quickly got to work and had Joshua Da Silva (9) caught behind in his second over of the day, finding just enough movement to draw the outside edge and pick up his 704th test wicket.

Anderson's fourth wicket of the match dented West Indies' slim chances of making England bat again and Da Silva was quickly followed by Alzarri Joseph (8).

Joseph decided to go down swinging, clubbing Gus Atkinson back over his head for four amid some wild swipes before he top-edged Atkinson to Ben Duckett on the leg-side boundary, taking the former to 10 wickets on his test debut.

Shamar Joseph (3) was not far behind Joseph, clean bowled by Atkinson as the tailender missed a straight yorker with an ugly hack across the line.

Gudakesh Motie (31 not out) put up some resistance and was involved in two of the highlights of the day, first driving Atkinson to the cover boundary to draw a long chase and full-length dive from Anderson to save a single run.

Motie then seemingly handed Anderson his 705th test wicket on a plate, driving the ball straight back to the bowler but he spilled it.

Anderson did not get a better chance for a final wicket and Atkinson wrapped things up when Jayden Seales (8) holed out to Duckett as West Indies were all out for 136 to fall to a heavy defeat inside barely seven sessions.

The two sides meet again in the second test of the three-match series starting at Trent Bridge next Thursday.

"It's been an amazing week, been overwhelmed with the reaction of the crowd and everyone around the ground," Anderson said.

"I'm just proud of what I've achieved," he added.

But it was Gus Atkinson, who ended the game when he had Jayden Seales caught in the deep, the debutant fast bowler finishing with superb match figures of 12-106 as England went 1-0 up in a three-Test series.

More from Sports News

  • Williams to face Australia's Joint in Wimbledon comeback

    American great Serena Williams will face Australian 20-year-old Maya Joint in the first round of her eagerly awaited return to Wimbledon, a potentially tricky tie for the seven-time champion playing at the tournament for the first time since 2022.

  • Australia reach World Cup knockouts, Turkey beat USA

    Australia booked their spot in the knockout rounds of the World Cup on Thursday after a cagey draw against Paraguay, who are set to qualify as a third-placed finisher, while Turkey beat USA 3-2, scoring the winner with virtually the last kick of the match.

  • Netherlands win Group F, Japan and Sweden also through

    The Netherlands scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the first half en route to a 3-1 victory over Tunisia on Thursday night in Kansas City in Group F, while Japan and Sweden drew 1-1 in Texas.

  • Beccacece hails Ecuador's biggest World Cup victory

    Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said all Ecuadoreans have a lot to celebrate on Thursday after the country's biggest World Cup result ever, coming from behind to beat Germany 2-1 and advance to the knockout stage.

  • New Zealand openers break record against England

    New Zealand took control of the third Test at Trent Bridge with Tom Latham and Devon Conway setting a record partnership for the Kiwis against England on Thursday.

Coming Up

  • Party Anthems

    10:00pm - Midnight

  • Non Stop 92

    Midnight - 8:00am