England’s veteran pacer James Anderson will play in his 188th and final Test match at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, when England take on West Indies in the first Test of the series, starting July 10.
He had announced that he will retire from Test cricket after the first Test, following which he will continue as the fast-bowling mentor in the team.
The English pacer has a stellar record of picking up 700 wickets in 187 Test matches so far. He is the third bowler and the only pacer to have reached that milestone in Test cricket – after Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800).
MORE: How will England line-up post Anderson’s retirement?
If Anderson (987) manages to pick up at least 13 wickets in his last Test match, he will become the only pacer to cross the 1000-mark of wickets in international cricket. He is currently third in the list, trailing behind Muralitharan (1347) and Warne (1001) for most wickets in international cricket.
The 41-year-old, who turns 42 at the end of this month (30th July), believes that despite the age, he is still bowling as best as he has throughout his career. In this article, The Sporting News looks at the list of the oldest players to play Test cricket.
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List of oldest players to play Test Cricket
When James Anderson takes the field for the final Test match of his career against West Indies at the Lord’s, he will be 41 years and 346 days old.
If the game extends to the fifth day, will finish his Test career at the age of 41 years and 351 days. However, there are over 50 players, who were over 42 when they finished their Test career.
Here is a list of the 10 oldest players to play Test cricket: (age listed is at the end of the match)
| Player | Age | Team | Final match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilfred Rhodes | 52y 165d | England | 3rd April 1930 vs West Indies |
| Bert Ironmonger | 50y 327d | Australia | 23rd February 1933 vs England |
| W.G. Grace | 50y 320d | England | 1st June 1899 vs Australia |
| George Gunn | 50y 303d | England | 3rd April 1930 vs West Indies |
| James Southerton | 49y 139d | England | 31st March 1877 vs Australia |
| Miran Bakhsh | 47y 301d | Pakistan | 12th February 1955 vs India |
| Jack Hobbs | 47y 249d | England | 16th August 1930 vs Australia |
| Frank Woolley | 47y 87d | England | 18th August 1934 vs Australia |
| Don Blackie | 46y 309d | Australia | 1st February 1929 vs England |
| Bert Strudwick | 46y 202d | England | 14th August 1926 vs Australia |
The top 10 list of the oldest players to play Test cricket features 7 English, 2 Australian and 1 Pakistan players.