James Anderson turns 44: Here are the England pacer’s 5 greatest Test spells

1. 7/42 vs West Indies, Lord’s, 2017

In quite a low-scoring Test match, England first bowled out West Indies for 123 runs before they themselves were bowled out for 194. In West Indies’ second innings Anderson showed his class by dismissing over half of the team by himself and getting his career best figures in doing so. Thanks to his outstanding spell, England bowled out the Windies for only 177 runs and easily chased the target of 107.

2. 7/43 vs New Zealand, Nottingham, 2008

A first inning total of 364 proved to be decisive for England as Anderson’s amazing spell of 7/43 in New Zealand’s first innings helped the Three Lions in bowling them out for only 123 runs and enforce follow-on. In New Zealand’s second innings, Anderson took another 2 wickets while Ryan Sidebottom took 6 as the Black Caps got bowled out for 232 runs and England went on to win the match by an innings and 9 runs.

3. 6/17 vs Pakistan, Nottingham, 2010

Anderson was on top of his game throughout the Test match as after getting bowled out for 354 runs in the first innings, England bowled Pakistan out for only 182 runs with Anderson taking a 5-wicket haul. In the second innings, England declared on 262/9, setting up a massive target of 435 for Pakistan. This time, Anderson outdid himself and bowled an incredible spell where he took 6 wickets and gave away only 17 runs as the visitors were bowled out for only 82 runs.

4. 6/40 vs Sri Lanka, Galle, 2021

Thanks to Anderson’s amazing 6-wicket haul, England were able to bowl out Sri Lanka for 381 runs in the first innings. Riding on Joe Root’s 186, the Three Lions reached an impressive score of 344 and denied Sri Lanka of taking a big lead. Second inning heroics from both Jack Leach and Dom Bess, the visitors bowled out the hosts for only 126 runs, setting up a target of only 164. England easily achieved the target and went on to win the match by 6 wickets.

5. 6/42 vs West Indies, Bridgetown, 2015

Another low-scoring Test encounter between the 2 sides saw England get bowled out for 257 runs in the first innings. Anderson’s fantastic 6-wicket haul in West Indies’ first innings helped the Three Lions in bowling them out for 189 runs and take a lead of 68 runs. However, in the second innings, England could only manage to make 123 runs before getting bowled out by the West Indian bowling attack. The Windies easily achieved the small target of 192 runs and went on to win the match by 5 wickets.

The post James Anderson turns 44: Here are the England pacer’s 5 greatest Test spells appeared first on Cricket Country.