England vs Pakistan: James Anderson Becomes Fourth Bowler to Take 600 Test Wickets

England pace bowler James Anderson on Tuesday became only the fourth bowler in the history of the game to claim 600 wickets in Test match cricket during the 3rd Test against Pakistan in Southampton.

Anderson reached the milestone when he dismissed Pakistan's captain Azhar Ali for 31 in the second innings. Joe Root completed the catch in the slips. England enforced the follow-on after Anderson's five-wicket haul helped bundle out Pakistan for 273 in the first innings. England put on a massive 583/8 declared in their first innings.

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Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/fL9aifFjyV#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/jjNlyM1Ty6

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 25, 2020

Interestingly, Anderson is the first pace bowler to breach the 600-wicket mark in Test cricket. The previous three bowlers to do it - Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble - were all spinners.

Anderson already had the distinction of being the most prolific fast bowler of all time in Test cricket in 2018, surpassing Australian great Glenn McGrath who took 563 wickets.

Anderson could have reached the milestone on either Day 3 or Day 4 of the Test itself but a combination poor fielding, bad light and rain made him wait till the second half of the final day of the series.

List of the Bowlers with Most Wickets in Tests (Top ten)

Muttiah Muralitharan 800 wickets

Shane Warne 708 wickets

Anil Kumble 619 wickets

James Anderson 600* wickets

Glenn McGrath 563 wickets

Courtney Walsh 519 wickets

Stuart Broad 514* wickets

Dale Steyn 439 wickets

Kapil Dev 434 wickets

Rangana Herath 433 wickets

(* - still active)