Stats: James Anderson completes 350 Test wickets in England

James Anderson started off the Lord’s Test match on a high by dismissing Indian openers cheaply by the 7th over of the first innings. The game began on the 2nd day after the bad weather didn’t allow even the toss on the opening day. Anderson started off the proceedings and had India down to 0/1 as he cleaned up Murali Vijay on the 5th ball of the game. He dismissed KL Rahul for eight at the start of his 4th over to make them 10/2 a couple of balls before rain returned.

Anderson has taken now exactly 350 wickets in England across the 80 Test matches he has played thus far. The wicket of Rahul was Anderson’s 350th success at home. The Englishman thus became only the 3rd player and the first pacer in the history of Test cricket to bag as many scalps. Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan trapped 493 wickets in just 73 matches at home while the former Indian skipper Anil Kumble also picked exactly 350 wickets in 63 Test matches in India.

Anderson is also the only paceman with 300+ wickets in Test cricket at home as the next best is Australia’s Glenn McGrath with 289 wickets in 66 home matches. A total of eight players have taken 250+ wickets at home in Test cricket out of which only three are pacers. Stuart Broad has accomplished this feat along Anderson and McGrath with 261 wickets in 68 Test matches in England. Shane Warner is one of the four players to take over 300 Test wickets at home along with Murali, Kumble and Jimmy.

The leg-spinner has taken 319 wickets in his Test career in the 69 matches he played in Australia. Asian spinner Rangana Herath and Harbhajan Singh have 275 and 265 wickets respectively in their kitty at home. The South African pacers Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn scalped 249 and 243 Test wickets respectively in South Africa. James Anderson currently has 96 wickets in the 23 Test matches at Lord’s and four more wickets will make him the first pacer to take 100 Test wickets at a venue.

Most wickets at home in Test cricket:

(Stats as on August 10, 2018)

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