James Anderson led the way in his farewell international match as England closed in on a crushing innings win over the West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday.
The West Indies had slumped to 6-79 in their second innings at stumps on the second day, still a mammoth 171 runs behind England’s first-innings 371, with Anderson having taken a miserly 2-11 in ten overs.
“If you would’ve given us that two days ago, we would have bitten your arm off,” England debutant wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who made an impressive 70, told Sky Sports after stumps.
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England great Anderson came into his 188th and last Test before international retirement having already taken 700 wickets – the most by any fast bowler in the 147-year history of the format.
Yet the 41-year-old had to wait until dismissing last man Jayden Seales in the first innings to extend that tally to 701.
But it was a different story on Thursday as Anderson reduced the tourists to 1-12 by bowling West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite with a ball that nipped back off the seam.
England captain Ben Stokes then had Kirk McKenzie LBW for a duck as he became only the third man, after West Indies great Garry Sobers and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, to take both 200 wickets and score 6,000 runs in Tests.
Mikyle Louis, who had already marked his Test debut by top-scoring with 27 in the West Indies’ meagre first-innings 121, was then caught behind off Stokes for 14 as England strengthened their grip on the first of this three-match series.
The cascade of wickets continued when Kavem Hodge played on to debutant fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who had done the damage in the first innings with a spectacular return of 7-45.
“It would be nice if Gus could get one more wicket for ten in the match, he’s deserved that, and then Jimmy finish off the rest,” said Smith, who plays alongside Atkinson at county champions Surrey.
“He’s got some frightening pace and great skill, it’s very exciting.”
Alick Athanaze offered a measure of resistance while making 22 before he fell to a combination of England’s old and new, edging Anderson – 42 later this month – low to Smith, who turns 24 on Friday.
The West Indies were now 5-55, with England eyeing a repeat of their celebrated two-day win over the Caribbean side at Headingley back in 2000.
They avoided that embarrassment but lost Jason Holder to what became the last ball of the day when the former West Indies captain was brilliantly caught at short leg by a diving Ollie Pope after fending at Atkinson.
Earlier Smith, averaging over fifty in the County Championship this season, made an eye-catching 70 during an assured 119-ball innings that included eight fours and two sixes.
It was the fifth fifty of England’s innings, with Smith following Zak Crawley (76), Joe Root (68), Pope (57) and Harry Brook (50) to the landmark.
Smith had been chosen as England’s wicketkeeper ahead of Ben Foakes in part because the selectors felt he was better at batting aggressively with the tail than his Surrey teammate.
He proved them right by going on the attack when pulling a six off Shamar Joseph, who later broke down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, before launching another off Seales over the stand.
“I’ve not hit a bigger one than that, I knew I got it because my shoulder was hurting after that shot,” Smith said.
After Shoaib Bashir was brilliantly run out by Louis’ direct hit from point, No 11 Anderson walked out to a standing ovation for what could be his last Test innings.
Anderson was left on nought not out without facing a ball, however, when Smith holed out in the deep off fast bowler Seales, who took 4-77.
West Indies’ plan to acknowledge England great James Anderson with a guard of honour fell by the wayside after a rare moment of exuberance at Lord’s left them celebrating “all the way down to Swiss Cottage” instead.
It has become a tradition for a fielding side to give a guard of honour when a leading opposition cricketer is coming into bat for the final time in a Test, and that was the West Indies’ intention on Thursday.
Anderson took the field after a brilliant run out by Mikyle Louis, whose direct hit to dismiss Shoaib Bashir sparked joyous celebrations among the West Indies side.
By the time Anderson, whose 703 Test wickets taken by any fast bowler in the format’s history, emerged from the Pavilion, only former West Indies captain Jason Holder was on hand to give the 41-year-old veteran a handshake.
“We spoke about it before he came out to bat, that we were going to give him a guard of honour,” West Indies fast bowler Seales explained.
“Obviously the run out took us all the way down to Swiss Cottage (the neighbouring district in northwest London to St John’s Wood, in which Lord’s is located), so it was pretty hard to do the guard of honour for the great man. Luckily, Jason caught up with him.”