Anderson's #500 lights up day 2 as England stay ahead

Fri, Sep 8, '17

"Why captain Jason Holder had not posted a third slip so soon after the break with clouds overhead and the floodlights on, only he will know but it would have been a straightforward catch to a man posted there. "

Lord's was where it all began for James Anderson in Test cricket. He made his debut here against Zimbabwe in 2003 and today, more than fourteen years later, Anderson picked up his 500th Test wicket, becoming just the sixth bowler in Test history to achieve the feat. It had given England the perfect start as they pressed for a series win and their chances were strengthened by the close with Windies 93-3, just 22 runs ahead.

It had been set up perfectly for Anderson. After morning rain, the skies had cleared and the sun had come out after tea as England took to the field with a 71-run lead following their first innings effort of 194 all out. After his two wickets in the first innings, Anderson needed just one more to become the third seam bowler after Australia's Glenn McGrath and Windies' Courtney Walsh to reach the 500 mark and a good sized crowd got behind him from the first ball.