England ace pacer James Anderson surpassed Glenn McGrath’s record of Most wickets by a pacer in international cricket. After an innings drubbing at Lord’s last week, England has bounced back in style with an innings victory of their own over South Africa in Manchester on Saturday, winning the game towards the end of Day 3.
Image – TCL
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Legendary England pacer James Anderson is going strong even at the age of 40 and, in fact, has aged like a fine wine over the past three years.
Anderson finished the game with six wickets – 3 wickets in each South African innings – thus taking his tally of total international wickets to 951, with that he surpassed Australian great Glenn McGrath, who had retired with 949 scalps in international cricket, making him the highest international wicket-taker among pacers.
Only three bowlers (all three spinners) are ahead of Anderson. They are Muttiah Muralitharan (1347), Shane Warne (1001), and Anil Kumble (956).
Anderson is already the leading Test wicket-taker among pacers with 664 wickets. In Test cricket, only Warne (708) and Muralitharan (800) have more dismissals than Anderson.
Most wickets by a pacer in international cricket
| Rank | Bowler | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | James Anderson | 951* |
| 2. | Glenn McGrath | 949 |
| 3. | Wasim Akram | 916 |
| 4. | Shaun Pollock | 829 |
| 5. | Stuart Broad | 802* |
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Meanwhile England captain Ben Stokes was effusive in praise for his team, in particular Foakes, for the way they have bounced back after a demoralizing loss in the first Test.
“To come back from last week’s disappointment at Lord’s gives us a lot of confidence and sets up for a cracking finish,” Stokes said at the press conference.
The third and the series-deciding Test will start on September 8 at the Oval.
