ENG vs IND: James Anderson Creates Unique Record After 71 Years; Joins Imran Khan, Ian Botham & Malcolm Marshall

England vs India, Edgbaston Test, Day 2: England pacer James Anderson became the third oldest cricketer in the history of Test cricket to have picked up five wickets in an innings. The 39-year-old achieved this feat against India in the first innings of the fifth Test match against Edgbaston on Saturday. The oldest cricketer to have picked up five wickets in an innings was Sydney Barnes of England at the age of 40 years and 304 days in 1914.

South African bowler Geoff Chubb was the second oldest cricketer to have achieved this unique feat at the age of 40 years and 86 days in the year 1951 which is about 71 years earlier.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

Oldest Cricketers To Have Picked Up Five Wickets In An Innings (In order of age):

1. Sydney Barnes (England) – 40 years and 304 days (1914)
2. Geoff Chubb (South Africa) – 40 years and 86 days (1951)
3. James Anderson (England)* – 39 years and 337 days (2 July 2022)

With that five-wicket haul against India, Anderson also joined a rich club consisting of Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Malcolm Marshall who have all taken five wickets in an innings six times in their career against India. Nathan Lyon and Muttiah Muralitharan top the list, having achieved the same feat on seven occasions.

If that wasn’t enough, Anderson has now taken five wickets or more in a Test innings for the 16th consecutive year – no other fast bowler has been able achieve that feat in the history of Test cricket. A list dominated by spinners, Anderson sits pretty with the likes of Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Most 5 Wicket-Haul In An Innings In Consecutive Years In Test Cricket:

1. 16 – James Anderson (2007/22)*
2. 16 – Anil Kumble (1992/07)
3. 16 – Muttiah Muralitharan (1993/08)
4. 11 – Richard Hadley (1978/88)

Anderson was the pick of the bowlers for England, returning with figures of 5 for 6 as Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj – all had fallen prey to the England pacer.