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Retired legendary pacer James Anderson was spotted playing with kids after playing his final International match for England in the first Test of the three-match series against West Indies at the Iconic Lord's on Friday, July 12.
Anderson officially pulled the curtains down on his illustrious Test career after England took a 1-0 series lead with a 114-run and an innings win against a visiting Caribbean side led by Kraigg Braithwaite. In his final Test, the 41-year-old picked four wickets, out of which, three came in the second innings where he registered the figures of 3/32 with an economy rate of 2 in 16 overs.
James Anderson received a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked off the field for one final time. However, just a few hours after his farewell Test, the legendary pacer was spotted playing with the kids on the outfield of the Lord's cricket ground. In a video posted by ESPN Cricinfo on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Anderson can be seen bowling to a kid and others were fielding.
England captain Ben Stokes revealed that his kids were too playing with his teammate James Anderson. Stokes reacted to the video of the kids having fun with the legendary pacer, suggesting that one day his kids will realize the legacy of Anderson.
"My daughter batting and my son doing the fielding, they got no idea but one day they will @jimmy9." Stokes wrote on X.
James Anderson retired as the highest wicket-taker among pacers in international cricket, with 991 wickets, including 34 fifers and 3 10-wicket hauls, at an average of 27.28 and an economy rate of 3.24 in 401 matches. In Test cricket, the legendary pacer picked 704 wickets, including 32 fifers and 3 10-wicket hauls, at an average of 26.45 and an economy rate of 2.79 in 188 matches.
Anderson was the first pacer to pick 700 Test wickets, the milestone he achieved in the fifth and final Test of the five-match series against Team India in Dharamshala.
'Anderson has been incredible inspiration to people': Ben Stokes
England skipper Ben Stokes lauded his retired teammate James Anderson contribution to England cricket, adding that many youngsters look up to the legendary career and emulate his illustrious career.
"He (Anderson) has been an incredible inspiration to so many people. So many young people have looked up to him and try to emulate his career, which I think will be quite hard to do." Stokes said at the post-match presentation.
"The amount of games, the amount of wickets he has taken is absolutely phenomenal. We are very lucky that we are able to keep Jimmy in our dressing room. Talk about the young bowlers. " he added.
Before playing his farewell Test against West Indies, Anderson played for Lanchasire in the County Championship match against Nottinghamshire, where he picked 8 wickets, including the figures of 7/35 with an economy rate of economy rate of 2.18 in 16 overs.
The County match between Lanchasire and Nottinghamshire was likely to be James Anderson's last appearance in the first-class cricket.
