James Anderson becomes first pacer to take 700 wickets in Test cricket

England pacer James Anderson became the first batter in Test cricket history to take 700 wickets in Test cricket. Anderson reached the milestone when he took the wicket of Kuldeep Yadav. 41-year-old Anderson, who is the oldest player in Test history, started his Test career in 2002 against Zimbabwe and has been troubling batters with his menacing swing from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting to Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. 

He has achieved a feat that no other pacer can dream of. The closest to his record wickets is his compatriot Stuart Broad, who has already retired from Test cricket. 

• Jacques Kallis, South Africa (2008) - 100th wicket
• Peter Siddle, Australia (2010) - 200th wicket
• Peter Fulton, New Zealand (2013) - 300th wicket
• Martin Guptill, New Zealand (2015) - 400th wicket
• Kraigg Braithwaite, West Indies (2017) - 500th wicket
• Azhar Ali, Pakistan (2020) - 600th wicket
• Kuldeep Yadav, India (2024)- 700th wicket

Overall, Anderson is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. The two bowlers above him are spinners -- Muthaiah Muralidharan and Shane Warne.

 

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Balls	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI
Muthaiah Muralidaran (ICC/SL)	1992-2010	133	230	44039	7339.5	1794	18180	800	9/51
Shane Warne (AUS)	1992-2007	145	273	40705	6784.1	1761	17995	708	8/71
James Anderson (ENG)	2003-2024	187*	348	39865	6644.1	1719	18568	700	7/42
Anil Kumble (IND)	1990-2008	132	236	40850	6808.2	1576	18355	619	10/74
Stuart Broad (ENG)	2007-2023	167	309	33698	5616.2	1304	16719	604	8/15
Glenn McGrath (AUS)	1993-2007	124	243	29248	4874.4	1470	12186	563	8/24
Nathan Lyon (AUS)	2011-2024	129*	241	32663	5443.5	1043	16003	527	8/50
Courtney Walsh (WI)	1984-2001	132	242	30019	5003.1	1144	12688	519	7/37
R Ashwin (IND)	2011-2024	100*	188	26082	4347	889	12178	511	7/59
Dale Steyn (SA)	2004-2019	93	171	18608	3101.2	660	10077	439	7/51
Kapil Dev (IND)	1978-1994	131	227	27740	4623.2	1060	12867	434	9/83