The swing bowler is just five wickets short of the landmark.
England bowler James Anderson could join a short and illustrious list of English cricketers in the third Test against New Zealand.
Anderson is just five Test wickets short of making 300 and becoming just the fourth Englishman to ever reach that milestone.
Although others in world cricket have surpassed that target a long time ago – leading Test wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan has 800 wickets – in England it is still quite an achievement.
Only Ian Botham, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman have ever taken 300 Test wickets for England, with the most recent, Botham, retiring from the international scene over 20 years ago.
This further emphasises quite how well Anderson has done. The 30-year-old first played Test cricket in 2003 but found himself on the fringes of the side. That was until 2007 when head coach Peter Moores brought him back into the regular XI and the bowler has never looked back.
Since England’s previous tour of New Zealand in 2008 Anderson has taken 233 wickets for his side, the most by any bowler in world cricket over the same time period.
The spearhead of England’s bowling attack hasn’t been quite so prolific in this current tour against the Black Caps and is not letting the 300 wicket landmark preoccupy his thoughts.
“It would be a huge achievement. But first of all, I’ve got to get some wickets,” Anderson said on ESPNcricinfo.
“I think two is the most I’ve got in an innings on this trip. I’m aware of it.”
However, if the last four-and-a-half years are anything to go by Anderson could reach his target in the third Test against New Zealand on Friday, as the bowler has averaged 4.82 wickets a match since 2008.
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