England’s James Anderson became just the fourth bowler and first paceman to take 600 Test wickets when he dismissed Pakistan captain Azhar Ali in the third Test at Southampton on Tuesday.
The only bowlers with more Test wickets than the 38-year-old Anderson are a trio of retired spinners – Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets), Australia’s Shane Warne (708) and India’s Anil Kumble (619).
Anderson reached the landmark when, with his 14th ball of the fifth day, he produced a rising delivery to well-set right-hander Azhar (31) that took the shoulder of the bat, with England captain Joe Root holding a head-high catch at first slip.
He was made to wait for the landmark because of dropped catches and rain delays but when finally play got underway at 1515 GMT, Anderson was raring to go and didn’t take long to produce the wicket-taking delivery.
#ENGvPAK
— The Field (@thefield_in) August 25, 2020
The smiles say it all.
Congratulations, James Anderson! pic.twitter.com/DVcQXdItmZ
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Anderson reaching the landmark:
What an incredible achievement @jimmy9! Many congratulations on your feat.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 25, 2020
6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ wickets in Test Cricket over a span of 17 years for a fast bowler is a testament to your grit, perseverance and accurate bowling. pic.twitter.com/nQok5bgbOG
Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2020
Just take a moment to appreciate how good Jimmy is 🏏
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 25, 2020
600! You’re amazing bro! @jimmy9 #600
#600 Test Match Wickets. So wonderful to be out there on the field for this special moment @jimmy9
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 26, 2020
What a bowler!! 🏏 https://t.co/TVWhZlYZUv
England’s greatest bowler of all time and an inspiration!
— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) August 26, 2020
An honour to play with @jimmy9 and be out there for that special moment 🐐 pic.twitter.com/mdLbey85Ux
Congratulations @jimmy9, what a milestone of 600 wickets!👏
— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) August 26, 2020
Here's to many more achievements!!✨ https://t.co/aWSx8SYfxd
Congratulations to @jimmy9 hard word does pay off well done and keep on going champ 600 and counting
— Courtney A Walsh (@CuddyWalsh) August 25, 2020
Congratulations @jimmy9. What a splendid record to have. More power to you 👊🏼 https://t.co/EmpxuBzdrL
— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) August 25, 2020
Congratulations for your remarkable achievement @jimmy9! Your passion, fortitude and drive are exceptional, cheers and best wishes for the future. #600TestWickets
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) August 25, 2020
Congratulations to one of cricket's finest bowlers @jimmy9. 600 Test wickets, brilliant achievement. 👏👏
— Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) August 26, 2020
Yes he is , go on @jimmy9 lad 💥 https://t.co/zHYh9LeQxz
— Andrew Flintoff (@flintoff11) August 25, 2020
Absolutely magnificent @jimmy9
— Darren Gough (@DGoughie) August 25, 2020
What an achievement, next target is 650 🚀🙏🍾
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600 is a lot of wickets for a fast bowler; a tribute to skill and fitness. And @jimmy9 has shown he is as good as any. Fabulous career and a place among the greats of the game
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 25, 2020
#600JA Couldn’t be a greater ambassador for Test Cricket than James Anderson! He’s an excellent example to young kids that to win a Cricket Oscar be great in Test Cricket!
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) August 25, 2020
Congratulations @jimmy9, so proud moment on becoming the FIRST ever fast bowler to pick 600th Test Wicket🏏
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) August 25, 2020
Here’s to many more milestones! 💪✌️ https://t.co/NJpQF93uQD
Great skills and even greater performer @jimmy9 #600wickets #test
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) August 25, 2020
Outstanding achievement of 600 test wickets. Congratulations to @jimmy9. Hard work and dedication throughout his career has resulted in a skilled champion bowler. Great inspirational story for youngsters
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) August 25, 2020
Congratulations @jimmy9 on your 600 wickets! Massive effort from a great fast bowler. Welcome to the club 👍🏼
— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 25, 2020
Greatest of great pace bowlers. Incredible career. Skill. Fitness. Longevity. History maker. C’mon @jimmy9, overtake Warney? 😉 #EngvPak #600
— Alison Mitchell (@AlisonMitchell) August 25, 2020
Remarkable achievement to play 156 Tests as a Batsman .. To do it as a quick bowler & then achieve 600 wickets is nothing short of extraordinary .. Well done @jimmy9 .. England’s greatest ever bowler .. #TestCricket
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 25, 2020
What a moment for @jimmy9! Congratulations 🐐
— Heather Knight (@Heatherknight55) August 25, 2020
Incredible 600 by @jimmy9 . What an amazing achievement. Playing 156 Test Matches for a medium fast bowler is no less achievement. Cheers mate. #JamesAnderson #600TestWickets #England pic.twitter.com/dVFMqPvuwA
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 25, 2020
Career bowling avg for Anderson at each milestone wicket
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) August 25, 2020
100th: 34.80
200th: 32.20
300th: 30.43
400th: 29.30
500th: 27.64
600th: 26.76#ENGvPAK
Jimmy Anderson's continued improvement just amazing: 600 Test wickets at 26, last 500 at 25, last 400 at 24, last 300 at 23, last 200 at 21 and last 100 at 22.
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) August 25, 2020
James Anderson's most frequent Test victims:
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 25, 2020
Peter Siddle - 11 dismissals
Sachin Tendulkar - 9
Michael Clarke - 9
Azhar Ali - 9
David Warner - 9
Shane Watson - 8
Cheteshwar Pujara - 8
Brad Haddin - 8
Shan Masood - 8#ENGvPAK
For a fast-bowler to play 156 test matches is an incredible achievement, a testament of his endurance. And becoming the first fast bowler to 600 test wickets is a just reward for the hard-work & the passion with which @jimmy9 has played his cricket. Many congratulations #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/RGOdReZXuL
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 25, 2020
600 Test wickets by a seam bowler is a ridiculous achievement. Can't see any other seamer getting there again.
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) August 25, 2020
Champion bowler James Anderson! Congrats on reaching the first-ever 600 wickets for a fast bowler.. hard work, passion and never-day-die approach have been the hallmark of your career.. doyen of fast bowlers, best wishes for the rest of your career @jimmy9
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 25, 2020
Congratulations @jimmy9 Astonishing feat...onwards to 700! 😉 #600
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) August 25, 2020
Most Test wickets for England:
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) August 25, 2020
Stuart Broad - 514
Ian Botham - 383
James Anderson since turning thirty - 332
Bob Willis - 325
Fred Truman - 307
Derek Underwood - 297
James Anderson before turning thirty - 268
Graeme Swann - 255#ENGvPAK
WHAT A BOWLER... Jimmy Anderson takes 600th Test wicket the first pace bowler to reach that mark - a triumph of longevity, cussedness and skill - No 600 Azhar Ali ct by Root at slip....
— Derek Pringle (@derekpringle) August 25, 2020
I BOW FOREVER TO @jimmy9
— Marina Hyde (@MarinaHyde) August 25, 2020
600. Jimmy Anderson. One of the greatest.... 🙌😇 #ENGvsPAK
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 25, 2020
One of those cricketers who made the game richer in content by their skills. Cricket will owe eternal gratitude to cricketers like Jimmy Anderson. My abiding memory of him : Virat v Anderson 2018 series in England.🙏🙏🙏
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 25, 2020
600 wickets. 17 years. 156 matches. Absolutely incredible.
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) August 25, 2020
Jimmy Anderson 👏👏👏
600 Test wickets, who would have thought that fast bowler would get there. Jimmy Anderson, you are a gift that goes on giving
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) August 25, 2020
600 wickets for James Anderson, he is the first fast bowler to complete this milestone - other three are spinners: Muralitharan, Warne & Kumble.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 25, 2020
17-year-old Test career for a fast bowler is an achievement - longevity, swing, accuracy, fitness, motivation and still going strong. pic.twitter.com/jbcE9X2ilQ
Number 600 for James Anderson is Azhar Ali,unfortunate that there’s no one to give him a standing ovation,but still doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s been an incredible career,what a bowler! #ENGvPAK
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) August 25, 2020
James Anderson becomes the first seamer to claim 600 Test wickets. He is only the fourth bowler of any kind to take this many wickets in Test cricket, alongside Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, and
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 25, 2020
Anil Kumble. #ENGvPAK
600th Test victim of
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 25, 2020
Shane Warne - Marcus Trescothick (Eng) in 2005
Muralidharan - Khaled Mashud (Ban) in 2006
Anil Kumble - Andrew Symonds (Aus) in 2008
James Anderson - Azhar Ali (Pak) in 2020#EngvPak #EngvsPak
And he isn’t done.
That's very crickety, that Jimmy Anderson gets his 600th wicket in front of no one in the windy grey damp. (His 700th will be to win the Ashes in front of 90,000 in Melbourne).
— Mark Steel (@mrmarksteel) August 25, 2020