21 years long career, 188 Test matches, more than 40 thousand balls and 704 wickets… no fast bowler can even dream of such a long Test career, but England’s fast bowler James Anderson has made this thing true. Jimmy retired from international cricket by playing his last Test match against West Indies at Lord’s, the same ground where Anderson held the red ball for the first time for England in 2003. This legendary fast bowler gave his all in his last Test match and took a total of 4 wickets in both innings. Anderson broke many records during his career, but here we will take a look at those 4 records which he will regret not breaking for the rest of his life.
Most matches played in Test
James Anderson ended his Test career with 188 Test matches. He was second after Sachin Tendulkar in the list of players who have played the most Test matches in world cricket. Sachin has made a world record of playing 200 Tests in his career. Anderson was the only player who could break this record, in modern day cricket now this record seems to be difficult to break.
| Sr. No. | Players | Matches |
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | 200 |
| 2 | James Anderson | 188 |
| 3 | Ricky Ponting | 168 |
| 4 | Steve Waugh | 168 |
| 5 | Stuart Broad | 167 |
Most wickets in Test
Anderson also remained at third position in terms of taking most wickets in Test career. As a fast bowler, he is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, but overall he remained at third position after Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralidhar and Australia’s Shane Warne. Anderson had a chance to break Warne’s record, but he missed it by 4 wickets.
| Sr. No. | Players | Wickets |
| 1 | Muttiah Muralitharan | 800 |
| 2 | Shane Warne | 708 |
| 3 | James Anderson | 704 |
| 4 | Anil Kumble | 619 |
| 5 | Stuart Broad | 604 |
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Most 5 wicket hauls in Test cricket
James Anderson did take 704 wickets in Test cricket, but he had only 32 5 wicket hauls to his credit. He is on the 7th position in terms of taking 5 wickets in an innings the most number of times in Test cricket.
| Sr. No. | Players | Most 5 Wicket Hauls |
| 1 | Muttiah Muralitharan | 67 |
| 2 | Shane Warne | 37 |
| 3 | Richard Hardley | 36 |
| 4 | Ravichandran Ashwin | 36 |
| 5 | Anil Kumble | 35 |
| 6 | Rangana Herath | 34 |
| 7 | James Anderson | 32 |
Most wickets in Ashes
Anderson also ranked 8th in the list of bowlers taking most wickets in the prestigious Ashes series between Australia and England. Anderson played a total of 39 Ashes Tests in his career in which he got 117 successes. In the list of top-10 bowlers, Stuart Broad (40) holds the record of playing the most Ashes Tests.
| Sr. No. | Players | Most Wickets in Ashes |
| 1 | Shane Warne | 195 |
| 2 | Glenn McGrath | 157 |
| 3 | Stuart Broad | 153 |
| 4 | Hugh Trumble | 141 |
| 5 | Dennis Lillee | 128 |
| 6 | Ian Botham | 128 |
| 7 | Bob Willis | 123 |
| 8 | James Anderson | 117 |
James Anderson never became captain
Another interesting thing in James Anderson’s career is that he never captained the Test team. Yes, in his 21-year long Test career, he never became the captain of England. In 2019, he was made the vice-captain of the team under the leadership of Joe Root, but he never got a chance to lead the team.