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

The first Rothesay Test match is currently taking place at Lord's, with the third day of play in progress.

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 top performances from Crawley, Smith, and Root. Seales took 4 wickets for the opposing team.

England emerged victorious in the first match of the three-game series with a commanding lead of an innings and 114 runs. This puts them ahead 1-0 in the overall series score.

James Anderson finished his incredible career playing for England in a big win against West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s.

Anderson, the top wicket-taker in England's history, grabbed one of the four wickets that fell on the third morning as the home team sealed a convincing victory by a margin of an innings and 114 runs.

On an emotional day at the famous cricket ground, 41-year-old Anderson was honored by both teams as he walked onto the field. He was clearly touched by the cheers and applause from the eager crowd.

There was no doubt about the outcome once the West Indies team was struggling at 79-6 on the second day, still 171 runs away from forcing England to bat again.

Anderson opened the bowling for the day and got a wicket in only his second over, catching Joshua da Silva behind the stumps.

Gus Atkinson manage to get Alzarri Joseph out at long leg, making him the first England bowler since 1976 to take 10 wickets in his Test debut. He then bowled out Shamar Joseph.

Anderson had a perfect opportunity for a dream ending but unfortunately, he missed a crucial catch off Gudakesh Motie.

It was actually Atkinson who made the final decision, catching Jayden Seales at deep square leg which resulted in West Indies being all out for 136. Atkinson ended with impressive figures of 5-61 in the second innings and 12-106 overall in the match. These stats make Atkinson the best performing debutant for England in 134 years.

The victory puts an end to England's losing streak of four Test matches in a row and puts them ahead 1-0 in the three-game series.

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

Anderson's retirement has been a drawn-out process, starting with his announcement in May after conversations with England captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum, and managing director Rob Key.

A lot of the week has been dedicated to honoring his remarkable career, which has established him as the most successful fast bowler in the history of Test cricket.

This was not as dramatic as when his good friends Sir Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad left the cricket scene. Cook scored a century in his last Test match against India, while Broad hit a six in the final ball of his Test career and then secured an Ashes draw with his last delivery against Australia at The Oval last year.

In the same place where he played his first Test match against Zimbabwe in 2003, Anderson walked out of the pavilion for what could be his last time. As he made his way through the two rows of players on the field, the large screen displayed his image with the caption "James Anderson The Best".

In a combination of England's traditional and modern styles, Atkinson, who was playing in his first Test match, and Anderson, who was playing in his 188th and final Test match, bowled without a break and side by side during the hour of play on Friday morning.

Anderson, as he often does, found the right angle down the Lord’s slope to catch Da Silva's nick, while Atkinson dismissed Alzarri Joseph with a bouncer and shattered the stumps of Shamar Joseph.

As the cricket match came down to the wire, the crowd enthusiastically chanted Anderson's name and urged him on as he prepared to bowl the final delivery. However, their hopes were dashed when Motie's shot deflected off the bowler's hand, falling safe and keeping the game alive.

In a nearly comedic moment, Motie managed to avoid the fielders and the entire crowd was urging Anderson on, but the celebrations were subdued when Seales hit Atkinson's pitch to Ben Duckett.

Anderson left the field with the cheers of the crowd ringing in his ears, basking in the praise. He was then interviewed by his former Test captain Nasser Hussain in the England team's changing room, holding a glass of Guinness.

Anderson took 3 wickets in the latest Test match, bringing his total career wickets up to 704. He now sits in third place on the all-time wicket takers list, only behind spin legends Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. It was the English team's decision to part ways with Anderson, so they now need to get ready for playing without him.

Analyzing Anderson's performance in Test matches through statistics:

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

Competed on 50 different Test venues

I have interacted with 109 people from my team.

Competed against 409 rivals

Sent 261 batters back to the bench

Delivered over 40,000 balls

England made changes to their team after losing 4-1 in India and with a focus on preparing for the Ashes in 2025-26.

Atkinson bowled fantastically, with fast speed and ease, to achieve the best performance by an English bowler in their first match since Fred Martin in 1890. He even surpassed Anderson's personal best match figures of 11-71.

Jamie Smith showed great skill as a wicketkeeper and batted well to score 70 runs on the second day of the match. Meanwhile, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir did not get a chance to bowl during his first Test match at home.

The comeback of Stokes as an all-rounder is a crucial element for England, as it brings much-needed balance to the team. His left knee, which has been fixed, held up well as he bowled eight overs in the first innings and ten in the second without any issues.

However, the captain is hoping for a better performance with the bat as his four runs on Thursday marked his fifth consecutive score of less than ten in Test matches.

England is expected to make a change for the Nottingham match, as Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington are both in contention to fill in for Anderson. It is likely that Mark Wood will also be considered for Test matches later in the summer.

This week was a challenging one for a young West Indies team. Worries about their batting proved to be true, and a promising bowling unit was disrupted by an injury to Shamar Joseph.

The West Indies have a history of surprising outcomes. They surprised England at Headingley in 2017 and earlier this year delivered a remarkable Test victory by defeating Australia in Brisbane.

As the series goes on, their performance should get better, but it seems like England is very dominant and anything less than a 3-0 series victory would be seen as a letdown for the home team.