English legend Sir Ian Botham has said that he is confident that James Anderson will surpass him as England's leading Test wicket-taker after the fast bowler took three more Test wickets against New Zealand to reach 301, 82 short of Botham's England record.
Welcoming the Lancashire player to the exclusive 300 club, Botham said that he had told Anderson that his next target should be 384, then 400 and maybe 450, although he quipped that Anderson did not seem so keen on the last record, the Guardian reports.
Praising Anderson, former cricketer and another member of the 300 club, Bob Willis, said that although Fred Trueman, who was the first bowler to reach 300 in 1964, had famously said that anyone else who got 300 wickets would be very tired, but Anderson does not seem tired to him.
According to the report, Anderson, who is the fourth on England's all-time list, is only six wickets behind Trueman, adding that Willis is second on the list with 325, and Botham, who was the last man to pass 300 in 1984, remains well in the distance on 383.
According to Anderson, the key scalp of Ross Taylor to move to 301 after the former New Zealand captain had stroked the first half-century of an otherwise dour and attritional first Test of the summer.
Although he expressed confidence on the possibility of overhauling Botham's record, Anderson however, admitted that there is still a long way for him to go before reaching the record, adding that he will have to play a lot of cricket and stay fit to get there.
Anderson's record was the highlight of another disappointing day for England, who lost six wickets for 40 to slump to 232 all out as Matt Prior and Stuart Broad were dismissed for ducks in consecutive overs, the report added.
