England's veteran pacer James Anderson has been the guiding light in Test cricket for the Three Lions. At the age of 39, Anderson is still ruling the longest format of the game and broke yet another record on day 1 of England's ongoing Test match against New Zealand at the Lord's on Friday.
Anderson now has four-wicket hauls in 61 innings in Test cricket, equalling the record set by former New Zealand bowling all-rounder Richard Hadlee. The veteran star was the best bowler against New Zealand, unsettling the Kiwi batters from the outset and scalping wickets in crucial moments to keep his team at bay.
Second on the list after these two is Glenn McGrath, with four-wicket hauls in 57 Test innings, Caribbean legend Courtney Walsh at 54, South African pacer Dale Steyn at 53, and former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis on 50 occupy the next three spots on this top five list.
The 39-year-old pacer finished the day with 66 runs and four wickets in just 16 overs. His innings also included six maiden overs. Leading the bowling alongside Anderson was debutant Matthew Potts, who also picked up four wickets and gave away 13 runs in 9.2 overs. The duo ensured that New Zealand were bowled out for 132 runs in their first innings.
Despite this strong start, however, England were unable to capitalise and faltered in the batting department, losing seven wickets for just 116 runs. They currently trail the Kiwis by 16 runs, with Ben Foakes and Stuart Broad on strike. Among the New Zealand bowlers, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson have two wickets each.
Southee also has a chance of creating history in this Test match, if he manages to pick up five more wickets for New Zealand. This will take the veteran Kiwi pacers to 27 wickets at the Lord's one more than former Australian legend McGrath, as well as his countryman Richard Hadlee, and make him the most successful foreign pacer at the Mecca of Cricket that is the Lord's.
