James Anderson becomes 1st cricketer to achieve huge feat, leaves behind Sachin & Ponting

Veteran England pacer James Anderson achieved an incredible feat on Thursday as he took the field in the second Test match against South Africa. Anderson became the first cricketer in the history of Test cricket to play 100 matches in a single country. The 40-year-old, who has played a total of 174 Tests, appeared in his 100th Test in England on Thursday. No other player in the history of the game has played 100 Tests in a single country. 

Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar previously held the record for playing the most number of Tests in a single country. In his career, Sachin played 94 Tests in India, the second most in a country after Anderson. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is third on the list with 92 Tests in Australia. Anderson's teammate Stuart Broad is fourth on the list with 91 Tests in England. 

James Anderson in Test cricket

Anderson also holds the record for taking the most number of Test wickets for England. Anderson is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket - only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne. Anderson has picked 658 wickets for England at an average of 26.40 and an economy of 2.80. He has 32 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls to his name. 

Anderson recently revealed he wanted to quit playing Test cricket for England after he was snubbed from the Test squad for their series against West Indies. Anderson, alongside his veteran pace partner Broad and five other players, were omitted from the team for the series due to their poor performances. However, after new management took over the reigns of English cricket, Anderson and Broad were called back to the team.  

Anderson is currently playing in the second Test of the three-match series between England and South Africa. The Proteas are currently 1-0 up in the contest having won the first match by an innings and 12 runs. As far as the second game is concerned, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. At the time of writing this copy, the Proteas have lost four wickets for 71 runs on the board. England skipper Ben Stokes has picked two wickets, while Anderson and Broad have scalped one wicket each. 

Image: Instagram@EnglandCricket