Watch: Emotional James Anderson receives guard of honour from England and West Indies players as his illustrious career comes to an end

James Anderson received a heartwarming guard of honor from England and West Indies before the start of Day 3 of the recently-concluded first Test at Lord's on Friday (July 12).

The Test match marked the end of James Anderson's illustrious Test career. The right-arm pacer made his Test debut at the same venue way back in 2003 and is retiring from the game as one of the most decorated bowlers of all time.

As James Anderson came out on the field as a Test cricketer for one last time, the West Indies and the England players gave him a guard of honor. The players lined up near the boundary as the England great walked out to a standing ovation from a capacity crowd at the iconic stadium.

An emotional James Anderson took off his hat and acknowledged the gesture from the players before play resumed.

Watch as James Anderson receives the guard of honor:

#<!---->T<!---->h<!---->e<!---->G<!---->r<!---->e<!---->a<!---->t<!---->e<!---->s<!---->t p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->f<!---->H<!---->H<!---->f<!---->e<!---->f<!---->b<!---->A<!---->y<!---->9

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) J<!---->u<!---->l<!---->y<!----> <!---->1<!---->2<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

It did not take James Anderson long to strike with the ball on day 3. He struck in his very second over to send back Joshua Da Silva for 9 runs. Debutant Gus Atkinson then picked up the remaining 3 wickets to complete his second 5-wicket haul in the Test as England bowled out West Indies for just 136 runs to win the game by an innings and 114 runs.

Earlier in the game, a 7-wicket haul from Atkinson had helped England bowl out West Indies for just 121 runs in the first innings. In reply, the hosts had scored 371 runs to take a big lead of 250 runs. Zak Crawley (76), Ollie Pope (57), Harry Brook (50), Joe Root (68) and Jamie Smith (70) scored half-centuries for the home side in the first innings.

Talking about James Anderson, he has retired from Tests as the most prolific fast-bowler of all time. No bowler has taken more wickets than him in the longest format of the game.

Earlier this year, he became the first pacer to reach 700 Test wickets, achieving the feat during the Dharamsala Test against India. Overall, he has picked up 704 wickets in 188 Tests. Only Sachin Tendulkar has played more Tests than him.