James Anderson is set to retire from International cricket after England's first test against West Indies. The 41-year-old will hang up his boots and walk away from international cricket as one of the finest to ever play the red-ball format.
As Anderson gears up for one final time in an England shirt, he has the chance to go past Shane Warne's tally to become the second-highest wicket-taker in Test matches. He will anyway finish as the pacer with the most wickets in the longest format.
Test cricket has witnessed some of the absolute greats, being the original format of the game. The emergence of the limited-overs format was only decades ago, as the Tests rule the sport, being the evergreen format.
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The impact of bowlers in other formats of the game might have been reduced, but not in Tests. In the red-ball game, it is still as difficult to score runs, as it was a few decades ago.
The likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath, among others, ruled the format in their respective generations. James Anderson is one of the few modern-day bowlers to find himself at the zenith of the list of wicket-takers in the longest format.
Who is the highest wicket-taker in Tests?
Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in Test history. Not only is he the highest, but also the only bowler to pick 800 wickets in the format. He picked 800 wickets in 230 innings, with the most five-wicket hauls in the game (67).
List of highest wicket-takers in Tests
| Player | Country | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Innings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muttiah Muralitharan | Sri Lanka | 133 | 800 | 22.72 | 2.47 | 9/51 |
| Shane Warne | Australia | 145 | 708 | 25.41 | 2.65 | 8/71 |
| James Anderson | England | 188 | 704 | 26.52 | 2.79 | 7/42 |
| Anil Kumble | India | 132 | 619 | 29.65 | 2.69 | 10/74 |
| Stuart Broad | England | 167 | 604 | 27.68 | 2.97 | 8/15 |
| Glenn McGrath | Australia | 124 | 563 | 21.64 | 2.49 | 8/24 |
| Nathan Lyon | Australia | 129 | 530 | 30.28 | 2.93 | 8/50 |
| Courtney Walsh | West Indies | 132 | 519 | 24.44 | 2.53 | 7/37 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 100 | 516 | 23.75 | 2.81 | 7/59 |
| Dale Steyn | South Africa | 93 | 439 | 22.95 | 3.24 | 7/51 |
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