James Anderson, after claiming his 564th wicket broke the record of Australia’s McGrath on Tuesday.
The only other players having claimed more wickets than him are Anil Kumble (619), Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800).
Glenn McGrath had this to say after getting his record broken, the same which he had taken from West Indies’s Courtney Walsh in 2005, “If he can raise the bar to 600 wickets, that’s an incredible effort.”, adding, “I was proud to hold it for as long as I did – for it to be beaten by somebody like Jimmy Anderson is great.
“I have a lot of respect for Jimmy. He’s been an incredible bowler for a long time. To have played well over 140 Tests and just keep running in, day in, day out, and remain at the top of his game, yeah, I’m very proud Jimmy’s got there.”
“You always wonder whether anyone’s going to get there,” said McGrath. “There was probably two guys I thought about – one was Jimmy and the other was [South Africa’s] Dale Steyn.
“Being a fast bowler is the toughest part of the game and injuries do play a part. To think that Jimmy’s played for so long and continued at the top of his game shows his work ethic, his physical and mental strength and everything else that goes into it.
“When it comes to the art of swing bowling, there is no-one better. I think of somebody like Wasim Akram, who is one of the greats of all time, and he could just do anything with a ball.
“Wasim swung it both ways, was a left-armer and had power through the crease.
“Jimmy is different. He’s taller and right-handed, but the way he swings a ball – both ways at will – is is what sets him apart. It’s definitely an art form and when the conditions suit – like they often do at Lord’s when it’s overcast and the ball is swinging – no-one comes close to him.
“Most guys hit the deck, get the ball in the right area and hope for a little bit of swing. We don’t see people with the skills of Anderson too often.”
Wickets Average Type of bowler
Muralitharan (SL) 800 22.72 Spin
Warne (Aus) 708 25.41 Spin
Kumble (Ind) 619 29.65 Spin
Anderson (Eng) 564 26.84 Pace
McGrath (Aus) 563 21.64 Pace
