ENG vs NZ: James Anderson Becomes The First Pacer In Test Cricket History To Claim 650 Test Wickets
England fast bowler James Anderson dismissed Tom Latham in the second innings of the Trent Bridge Test to become the first pacer in the history of the game to take 650 wickets in the longest format of the game.
Anderson was the first to breach the 600-wicket mark as well. The experienced veteran continues racking up numbers in the wickets column, well on course to reach the 700-wicket barrier.
Anderson was at 646 wickets at the start of the second Test and he ended up with figures of 3/62 in the first innings where New Zealand made 553 courtesy of twin centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell.
After England replied with 539 in their first innings, Anderson came back and bowled Latham in the fifth ball of the very first over of the second innings to go to 650 wickets.
The 39-year-old is playing in his 171st match, the second most number of games played behind former Indian batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar. Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne lead the charts for most wickets taken, with 800 and 708 respectively.
Watch James Anderson’s 650th wicket here:
The perfect start and Test wicket number 6️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ for @jimmy9 ?
Scorecard & Videos: https://t.co/GJPwJC59J7
??????? #ENGvNZ ?? pic.twitter.com/PLFNZU6P2k
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Joe Root continued his rich vein of form, scoring 176 off 211 balls studded with 26 fours and one six. He was well accompanied by Ollie Pope, who himself brought up his career’s second Test century.
Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes played middle-order cameos which propelled England closer to the Kiwis’ first innings total. They fell short at 539, conceding a first-innings lead of 14 runs.
