England v West Indies: James Anderson ends career in huge win at Lord's

Here is the report on the third day of the Rothesay Test match at Lord's.

The West Indies scored 121 runs in their first innings, with Atkinson taking 7 wickets. In their second innings, they scored 136 runs, with Atkinson taking 5 wickets.

England scored 371 runs, with Crawley making 76, Smith scoring 70, and Root adding 68. Seales took 4 wickets for the opposition.

England emerged victorious in the first match of the three-game series by a significant margin of one innings and 114 runs. This victory has given England the early lead in the series, putting them ahead by 1-0.

James Anderson finished his incredible career playing for England in their overpowering win against West Indies in the first Test at Lord's.

Anderson, who holds the record for taking the most wickets in England's cricket history, successfully took down one of the four batsmen on the third morning. This helped the home team win convincingly by an impressive margin of an innings and 114 runs.

On an emotional day at the iconic cricket stadium, 41-year-old Anderson was honored with a special welcome by both teams as he walked onto the field. He was clearly touched by the loud applause and support he received from the eager audience.

It was already clear who would win the game when the West Indies team had only scored 79 runs and lost 6 wickets on the second day. They were still 171 runs behind England's score.

Anderson bowled the initial over of the day and took a wicket in his second over, dismissing Joshua da Silva by getting him caught behind.

Gus Atkinson caught Alzarri Joseph at long leg, becoming the first English bowler to take 10 wickets in their Test debut since 1976. He then bowled out Shamar Joseph with a quick swipe.

The situation was perfect for Anderson, but he missed the opportunity for a storybook ending when he failed to catch the ball thrown by Gudakesh Motie.

It was actually Atkinson who made the last move by catching Jayden Seales at deep square leg, causing West Indies to be all out for 136. Atkinson's performance led to him getting 5-61 in the second innings and a total of 12-106 in the match, the best stats for an England debutant in over a century.

The victory stops a streak of four back-to-back Test losses for England and puts them ahead 1-0 in the three-game series.

Anderson quickly becomes part of the England coaching staff as a mentor for the bowlers for the upcoming second Test at Trent Bridge, starting on Thursday.

Anderson's farewell has been a drawn-out affair. He made his retirement plans known back in May following discussions with England's captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum, and managing director Rob Key.

Throughout the week, we have been honoring his exceptional career, which has solidified his title as the greatest fast bowler in the history of Test cricket.

This didn't have the same excitement as when his close friends Sir Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad retired. Cook scored a century in his last Test against India, and Broad hit a six in his final ball in Test cricket and sealed an Ashes draw against Australia at The Oval last year.

At the very place where he played his first Test match against Zimbabwe in 2003, Anderson made his way down the pavilion steps once again. As he strolled past the two groups of players standing on the field, his image was displayed on the large screen with the words "James Anderson The Greatest".

In a blend of England's traditional and modern styles, Atkinson, making his debut in Test cricket, and Anderson, in his final Test after 188 appearances, bowled together without any break during the first hour of play on Friday morning.

Anderson once again showed his skill by getting Da Silva out with a delivery down the Lord's slope, while Atkinson bowled a bouncer to dismiss Alzarri Joseph and knocked over the stumps of Shamar Joseph.

As the game came down to the final moments, the crowd was chanting Anderson's name and cheering him on as he prepared to take the last wicket. However, their excitement quickly turned to disappointment when Motie's shot popped out of the bowler's hand in a dramatic turn of events.

In a funny turn of events, Motie managed to avoid the fielders and the entire crowd cheered on Anderson as he approached his big moment. However, the celebrations were toned down when Seales hit Atkinson's pitch to Ben Duckett.

Anderson walked off the field with the crowd's praise echoing around him, and later was interviewed by his former Test captain Nasser Hussain in the England team's locker room, holding a glass of Guinness.

Anderson has taken 3 wickets in this match, bringing his total Test wickets to 704. He is now in third place on the list of all-time wicket-takers, trailing only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. England made the decision to part ways with Anderson, so now they will need to get ready for a future without him.

Anderson's statistics in his Test career:

Participated in matches under the leadership of eight different Test captains, including Hussain, Vaughan, Flintoff, Strauss, Pietersen, Cook, Root, and Stokes.

Played at 50 different Test venues

Interacted with 109 peers

Competed against 409 rivals

Turned away 261 unique hitters

Delivered over 40,000 bowls

England made changes to their team after losing 4-1 in India, looking ahead to the Ashes series in 2025-26.

Atkinson performed exceptionally well, bowling at a fast speed and with minimal effort to achieve the best match statistics by an English bowler making their debut since Fred Martin's performance against Australia at The Oval in 1890. He even surpassed Anderson's previous career-best match statistics of 11-71.

Jamie Smith was very skilled as the wicketkeeper and he looked very good while scoring 70 runs on the second day. On the other hand, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir did not have the chance to bowl in his debut Test match at home.

One of the most crucial things for England is Stokes coming back to play as an all-rounder, which has been lacking balance. Thanks to his fixed left knee, he was able to bowl without any issues, bowling eight overs in the first innings and 10 in the second.

However, the captain is hoping to improve his batting performance as his last four innings in Tests have all been low scores.

In Nottingham, England is expected to make a change, with Matthew Potts and newcomer Dillon Pennington competing to take Anderson's place. Mark Wood is also expected to return to the Test squad during the summer.

It was a tough week for a young West Indies team. The worries about their batting came true and their impressive bowling was affected by Shamar Joseph's injury.

The West Indies have a history of surprising outcomes. They shocked England at Headingley in 2017 and earlier this year achieved an incredible Test victory by defeating Australia in Brisbane.

The team is expected to get better as the series goes on, but England appears to be very powerful. If the home team doesn't win 3-0, it will be seen as a letdown.