As he became the first ever England bowler to achieve 500 wickets mark in test cricket, an elated James Anderson described it as “surreal”. he became only the sixth bowler to take 500 Test wickets on Friday.
“It feels good. It’s a bit surreal. I can’t believe I have this many wickets or I have played this much cricket. I’m a bit relieved to have it out of the way,” he told Sky Sports.
“Ideally I’d have done it yesterday but, from the team’s point of view, we bowled really well” he said.
“It’s a great place to bowl. I got my first wicket here and now I have my 500th. My family and friends were in the crowd.”
Anderson is only the third pace bowler to take 500 test wickets and is only 18 behind former West Indies great Courtney Walsh, the first bowler to reach the landmark.
Anderson’s 501 wickets have come at an average of 27.7 with 330 wickets coming at home compared to 171 on foreign soil.
The three leaders on the all-time list are Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Australian leg spinner Shane Warne (708) and Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble (619).
