James ‘The GOAT’ Anderson on verge of reaching 600 Test wickets

James Anderson heads into the penultimate day of England’s final match against Pakistan just two wickets away from becoming the first fast bowler in history to take 600 Test scalps, but team-mate Dom Bess insists he is already “the GOAT”.
Anderson wrapped up the 29th five-wicket haul of his career as he topped and tailed Pakistan’s first innings for 273, leaving captain Joe Root to enforce the follow-on with the tourists still languishing 310 runs behind.
The 38-year-old seamer was eager to add to his tally of 598 late on the third evening but umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth decided the fading light was too bad and led the sides from the field shortly after 7pm.
That means Anderson will be fully refreshed as he begins his latest new-ball blast against Shan Masood and Azhar Ali, who decided to promote himself after finishing with an unbeaten 141 on Sunday.
View this post on Instagram
A 29th Test five-fer for an absolute genius @jimmya9 🐐 #englandcricket #engvpak
On current form it would be a surprise if he does not get the breakthroughs he needs to join the 600 club, which currently has space for only three members – spin greats Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
Bess was just six years old when Anderson opened his account by bowling Zimbabwe’s Mark Vermeulen on debut in 2003, and has no doubts about his status in the game.
“He’s the GOAT (greatest of all time) isn’t he? He’s the GOAT of bowling and England’s greatest,” said the off-spinner.
“Myself, Dom Sibley, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley have all grown up watching him play. It’s phenomenal to stand there at point watching him nick people off and hit people on the shins, to watch him take as many poles as he does and do it so consistently.

“It’s an amazing thing for an individual but I think when Jimmy does his business, he does it for the team. There was chat about his potential retirement (recently) and then he comes back and absolutely tears it up. That just shows how good he is.”
Rain delays are expected over the next two days but it seems only the weather can prevent Pakistan from defeat here and a 2-0 series loss. England, who posted 583 for eight declared after Crawley’s double century and a supporting hundred from Jos Buttler, will hope not to take the crease again.
“We’re in a great position. We talk about our blueprint as a team, which is scoring plenty of runs, and now we have two days to bowl them out,” he said.
“There’s a little bit of weather around but you’d like to think with the bowling attack we have that we can produce the goods.”
While England, and Anderson, would have loved to make further progress under the floodlights, Bess had no qualms about coming off due to poor visibility and concerns over player safety.
There has been a concerted push towards maximising time in the middle following the drawn second Test but Bess called for a balanced view.
“Obviously, we all want to be playing cricket and we all want to get cricket on but I think there’s got to be a little bit more common sense as well, in terms of players’ well-being,” he said.
“It was really dark out there. Imagine if someone gets hit there and it is really serious? Say the number 10 or 11 gets hit by Jofra Archer because we are out there – what happens then?”
Latest
-
England
Liam Livingstone praises England spinner Rehan Ahmed as ‘exceptional talent’
Ahmed has furthered his blossoming reputation against the West Indies by recording identical figures of 10-1-40-2 in two ODIs in Antigua.
-
England
Little bit of relief – Sam Curran and England bounce back in Antigua
Curran laid the groundwork for England’s six-wicket win.
-
England
Sam Curran and Jos Buttler return to form as England level series in Antigua
Chasing 203, Will Jacks put England into the ascendancy with a sparkling 73 off 72 balls.
-
England
Sam Curran finds form as England bowl out West Indies for 202
Curran took three big scalps days after enduring a tough time in the first ODI.
-
England
Andrew Flintoff set to return to England’s backroom staff for Windies T20 series
Flintoff first linked up with the national side in an unpaid role for ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland before the World Cup.
-
Women's Cricket
Danni Wyatt stars on 150th T20I appearance as England begin India tour with win
Sophie Ecclestone returned figures of three for 15 on her comeback appearance after four months out with a shoulder injury.
-
England
Harry Brook blocks himself from ‘negativity’ by withdrawing from social media
Brook has left the running of his X and Instagram accounts to someone else.
-
Women's Cricket
Sophie Ecclestone set for England return in T20 opener in India – Heather Knight
The world’s top-ranked limited-overs bowler underwent surgery after dislocating her shoulder in August.
-
England
Rehan Ahmed rejects Sir Alastair Cook’s criticism of Jos Buttler’s captaincy
Several of Buttler’s decisions were scrutinised during a calamitous World Cup defence.
-
Women's Cricket
Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson handed their first central contracts by ECB
England Women have once again issued 18 full-time deals.