England’s star pacer James Anderson scripted a record on Thursday, August 25, when he started for the Three Lions against South Africa in the second Test match in Manchester. The 40-year-old became the first player in the history of Test cricket to play 100 matches in the format in a single country.

Anderson made his Test debut on May 22, 2003, against Zimbabwe at the Lord’s. Since then, he has also become England’s highest record taker in Tests with 659 wickets. He has also played 174 Test matches to date, and is also the third highest Test wicket-taker of all time in the longest format of the game, behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).

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Former Indian maverick Sachin Tendulkar is second on the list of most Test matches played in a single country with 94, followed by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting (92) and Anderson’s compatriot Stuart Broad (91) in the third and fourth places.

South Africa registered a win in the first Test match at the Lord’s where the Proteas registered a massive victory by an innings and 12 runs. It was also the maiden defeat for England captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum since they were appointed in their respective roles. The loss also put an end to a four-match winning streak in Test cricket, where they had whitewashed New Zealand in a Test series and India.

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Ahead of the Test series, former England captain Andrew Strauss lauded James Anderson for his longevity at the highest level. “The most bizarre thing of all is that Jimmy Anderson made his England debut before I did. I’ve been retired 10 years now. That is crazy,” he said.

“For Jimmy to keep his standards and fitness levels as high as he has, to keep improving his skills as he has over the last six/seven years. That’s the difference when you look at good cricketers and greats,” Strauss added.