England's James Anderson expressed his pride after ending his Test career with a victory over the West Indies at Lord's.
In his final international appearance, the 41-year-old paceman took 3-32 in 16 overs, helping to dismiss the West Indies for 136 on Friday. This gave England a win by an innings and 114 runs within three days.
The England selectors had decided that this match, the first of a three-match series, would be Anderson's farewell to international cricket as they prepare for the 2025/26 Ashes series in Australia.
Anderson will now mentor England's fast bowlers for the rest of the season. He retires with 704 wickets from 188 Tests, ranking him behind only Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) in Test wickets. Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have played more Tests than Anderson, with 200 matches.
"It's been quite an amazing week," Anderson told Sky Sports. "I've been overwhelmed with the reaction of the crowd and everyone around the ground, and the lads as well. I'm just proud of what I've achieved."
"Obviously this morning was quite emotional with the two teams lined up, and the reaction from the crowd was pretty special. I'm still trying to hold them (tears) back now but I think I am just really proud," Anderson added. He ended his Test career where it began, with a debut against Zimbabwe at Lord's in 2003.
"Playing for 20-odd years is an incredible effort, especially for a fast bowler, so I'm just happy that I've made it this far, happy that I've been lucky enough to stay injury-free pretty much throughout my career."
"Playing for England is the best job in the world and I've been privileged to do it for a long time."
England captain Ben Stokes praised Anderson, saying, "He has just been an incredible inspiration to so many people... The amount of games and the amount of wickets he's taken are just absolutely phenomenal."
"Sometimes you can be lost for words but if you gave me 15 minutes I wouldn't be able to compliment him enough."
There was a sense of a torch being passed at Lord's, with debutant fast bowler Gus Atkinson named player of the match for his 12-106 haul.
By taking 12 wickets in his first Test, Atkinson achieved something Anderson did not in 188 matches, with Anderson's best match return being 11-71 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 2010.
"It has been an incredible week," said Atkinson. "I just want to say thanks to Jimmy. Playing here in his last Test has been incredible."
Atkinson, 26, from Surrey, said he idolised Anderson as a child: "A hundred percent. Growing up Jimmy was someone I would come to Lord's and watch. I was standing at mid-off thinking I had seen that so many times on the TV. It was amazing."
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite also commented on Anderson, saying, "He is a legend of the game. I won't miss him at all!"
(With inputs from AFP)
Sunder Katwala
