James Anderson became only the third bowler and the first fast bowler to take 700 wickets in Test cricket as England toiled in Dharamsala.
Anderson, 41, playing his 187th Test, had Kuldeep Yadav caught behind by Ben Foakes. His muted celebration betrayed both his relief - it took eight games to get the last 15 wickets - but also England's desperate situation in the match. Soon after Kuldeep fell behind, India were dismissed for 477, a first innings lead of 259.
While there were only a few thousand England fans in the ground to toast the moment, Anderson's father Michael was among them.
Anderson joins Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne (708) in the exclusive 700 club.
He is the first fast bowler to get there, and chances are he will be the last, given the magnitude of the achievement and Test cricket's shrinking schedule.
To mark the occasion, Telegraph Sport spoke to five great fast bowlers from five different countries about Anderson's achievement.
Michael Holding, West Indies, 1975-1987
249 Test wickets at 23.7No matter how well managed Jimmy is, or what era he plays in, the man is 41... years... old. He runs up and bowls fast, and fast bowling is hard work, no matter how easy one's action looks.
There are many fast bowlers of the past, who even if they had his management, would never have lasted so long. And no other fast bowler of his era, with his management, has endured as he has. When Courtney Walsh did it in her late 30s, I thought, 'This man has extraordinary staying power and is unique.' Jimmy passed that by years! I played 60 Tests and I was physically ready.
I remember Jimmy at the very beginning, with that red streak in his hair, and he covered almost 100 of his Tests for Sky. One thing I like about him is the fact that his foreign record was initially ordinary. But he has vastly improved that record abroad by adding new skills. You wouldn't expect a player to improve as he gets older. Maybe maintain your level, but not improve it.
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Jimmy's greatest skill is his control. Every day he seems to be in control of what he does, and very few fast bowlers are like that. People have tricks, pace and skill, but you can't keep it up without incredible control like his. I always notice when he's not 100 percent fit because that's the only time he ever loses control.
Also a word for Stuart Broad. They complemented each other and wreaked havoc on batsmen. In bowling you need partnerships, that has been the case throughout the centuries. My West Indian team was unique in the 1980s in that we had so many bowlers, but normally they are pairs. The only great fast bowler who had no other excellent bowler on the other side was Richard Hadlee.
700 is an outrageous figure. When Fred Trueman set the world record for fast bowlers, no one expected a fast bowler to surpass him. It was a spinner first, Lance Gibbs. And to hear that a fast bowler has now taken 700 wickets... that's a miracle.
Richard Hadlee, New Zealand 1973-1990
431 Test wickets at 22.3For Jimmy Anderson to take 700 Test wickets is an extraordinary achievement and a proud moment for him, English cricket and the world game. He has shown real resilience and endurance, along with excellent fitness. He has mesmerized many of the world's best batsmen with his control of the swing (in both directions) and his quick pace, with that simple, efficient, repeatable action.
I graduated as a Test cricketer just after my 39th birthday. It took me over 17 years to play 86 Tests as New Zealand typically played six a year (three home, three away). I only played in two series of four Tests.
That cricket diet gave me incentive and motivation to keep playing as long as possible, especially like Ian Botham's world record of 373 wickets (which I passed in 1988), when I became the first bowler to reach 400 wickets (which I broke in 1988). passed). 1990) in my sights. Afterwards I had climbed my Everest and knew that the tour of England in 1990 would be my final.
I relied on top fitness and bowling to be able to play for so long. I very rarely used a gym (I didn't like them), but did running and sprinting work which, along with stretching, gave me a flexible body. The last ten years of my career I had a shorter run-up and a simple, repeatable technique, which also contributed to my longevity.
But at age 39, I found it increasingly difficult to recover from a big day of bowling and repeat the same effort the day after. There wasn't enough time for my body to get over any aches, pains or problems. I knew it was time to retire!
Jimmy has played more Tests every year, for more years, and has gone up in age. It's quite remarkable.
330 Test wickets at 22.3The words that immediately come to mind are ridiculous and remarkable. I'm impressed with how Jimmy is still doing. The skill will never leave him, but maintaining the energy, intensity and desire is incredible. It's so difficult to bowl fast in India and he still takes wickets and makes the ball talk. It's really bizarre and although you never say never, I don't see any other fast bowler taking 700 wickets.
I was coming towards the end of my career at the 2003 World Cup when he came onto the scene. I vividly remember being in our team hotel and watching England play Pakistan at Newlands, Jimmy producing a sublime display of swing bowling at pace. He had a great haircut back then, and it never seems to end!
In 2007 I worked as a bowling coach in England for four months. Jimmy was so young at the time and I thought he had incredible skills, but he was a bit woolly and tried to do too much with the ball, finding a huge in and out swing. That's one of the many amazing things about watching him now, the understanding and mastery of his craft that he has developed. He uses the crease so well, swings the ball from wide, from close range, and tries not to overdo it. Even then, he did his homework so well and was a great student of the game.
I now coach the Lions in South Africa, and recently I played our fast bowler clips of Jimmy, showing how he set up batsmen and showed that he always had a plan. He's so patient with his stick ball, waiting to unleash the variation like a big inswinger at just the right moment. I said if these boys wanted to learn to bowl, they should watch Jimmy.
Stuart Broad, England 2007-2023
604 Test wickets at 27.6I had the privilege of participating with Jimmy halfway through 138 tests. I've never been in a Rolls Royce, but this is what I imagine it feels like to sit in the passenger seat of a Roller. Everything flows so smoothly in the approach, there is no great force in the action and no jerky, exaggerated movements.
With a milestone like this, it's easy to talk about dedication and sacrifice. That's very much true of Jimmy, of course, but you have to combine it with a truly elite skill level to perform as consistently as he has for so long.
There were times when I watched him, especially at Lord's, when the ball was swinging around, in absolute amazement, and thought, "This man is so skilled he's unplayable." That said, the one game that stands out is Trent Bridge in 2013, when he stood up and won the game on his own. People remember the last wicket, Brad Haddin with DRS, but that was his 10th of the match on a slow, dry surface, hardly a classic English pitch. He used his full range, including an incredible off-cutter, to catch Michael Clarke.
Jimmy's record has continued to improve, but he is not someone who has been on a steep upward trend throughout his career. Look at last summer, when his future was in doubt. In those moments, he has such a deep belief and understanding of what he needs to do to compete at the top that even after seven months without competing, he returned to India as if he had played every week.
How did Jimmy do it? The way I would describe his approach is a healthy addiction. You hear stories about Muttiah Muralitharan, one of only two men before him, and people say he was totally obsessed, living and breathing the game and watching every minute he could. Jimmy isn't like that. He loves the game, but also enjoys free time and has other interests. He prepares meticulously physically, but he is not a statistics nerd or crazy researcher. He hardly needs to do any research, because he has seen everything, knows exactly what his plans are and works out new problems so quickly.
Pat Cummins, Australia 2011-present
263 Test wickets at 22.4It's just an insane number when you consider he took four wickets per Test as a rough average over so many games and so many years.
I have always found Jimmy to be an incredibly strong competitor. You can always tell that he wants the ball in his hand and can adapt beautifully to the circumstances.
As a fast bowler you are always looking for little things wherever you can, including opponents. I have always admired and been interested in the way Jimmy uses swing. He's a guy who can swing it a lot, but he shows great restraint in how much he swings it, knowing that a little bit of movement can be more dangerous than a huge hoop.
His use of the seam is also excellent, and he always strives to perfect it.
The things I admire most about Jimmy are his longevity and adaptability. Playing a lot of Test cricket is obviously difficult, but to do it for as long as Jimmy has as a fast bowler is simply unheard of.
The other layer is that as a Test cricketer you only play about half your matches at home. So he is best known and remembered for his spells swinging a Dukes ball in England, but what is impressive is his ability to adapt and evolve and be effective anywhere in the world.
Could I still go at 42? [Laughs]. I doubt it. Forget keeping your skills up to date, I just don't see how a 41 year old still has the body to bowl in Test cricket. Seriously impressive.
