James Anderson said it was easy to get Virat Kohli out in the early stages of his career.© AFP
Arguably the greatest fast bowler to ever play the game, England’s James Anderson played his final Test on Friday as the hosts defeated the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord’s. Anderson came out on a high, claiming four wickets and retiring with 704 wickets, the most by a pacer in Test cricket history. Anderson retires as the third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game, behind only Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and the late great Australian Shane Warne (708).
After his last match, Anderson reflected on his battles with former India captain Virat Kohli, whom he knocked out seven times in his Test career.
Anderson indicated that in the early stages of Kohli’s career it was easy to get him out but he stressed that now it seems almost impossible to do so.
“I feel like you go up and down like that. Some series you feel great and the next you’re not quite there. Playing against [Virat] “In the beginning with Kohli you felt like you could get him away from every ball; now you feel like you can’t get him away from him at all and you feel inferior,” Anderson told Sky Sports.
After dismissing Kohli four times during India’s tour of England in 2014, Anderson struggled to hit the Indian great’s batting during the same tour four years later when the then Indian captain scored 600 runs in the series.
Anderson said of his game that he was fortunate not to have suffered from injuries during his career, which spanned two decades.
“It was obviously quite emotional this morning with the two teams lining up and the reaction from the crowd was quite special. I’m glad I’ve been fortunate enough to stay injury-free for pretty much my entire career. And yes, I play for England. It’s the best job in the world so I’ve been privileged to do it for so long,” he added.
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