LONDON: James Anderson’s daughters Lola and Ruby had the honour of ringing the iconic bell at Lord’s ahead of the veteran pacer’s final Test for England.
Anderson, the most successful pacer in the history of Test cricket, was honoured by his teammates as he was asked to lead the side marching onto the field after England captain Ben Stokes put West Indies into bat.
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The right-arm pacer also received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd at the home of cricket while his daughters rang the five-minute bell before the commencement of the action as visibly emotional James Anderson looked on.
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The tradition of ringing the bell at Lord’s before a Test match began in 2007 when West Indies were welcomed to the stadium. Vivian Richards, Peter Baxter, and Garfield Sobers were the bell-ringers on that occasion.
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For the unversed, England’s veteran pacer James Anderson announced Saturday that he will retire from Test cricket this summer.
“Hi everyone. Just a note to say that the first Test of the summer at Lord’s will be my last Test” stated Anderson.
“It’s been an incredible 20 years representing my country, playing the game I’ve loved since I was a kid. I’m going to miss walking out for England so much. But I know the time is right to step aside and let others realise their dreams just like I got to, because there is no greater feeling.”
Anderson is the only pacer in history to take 700 Test wickets. He achieved the milestone during England’s fifth away Test against India, in March this year.
He is also the third in the list of players with the most Test wickets, only behind spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) of Sri Lanka and the late Shane Warne (708 wickets) of Australia.
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