3 bowlers (ft. James Anderson) above 40 years of age who have been ranked No. 1 in the world 

When we talk about cricket or sports in general, people expect players to retire in their late thirties or at most by the age of forty.

In most cases, the expectations are valid as players struggle beyond an age due to various reasons like injuries, slow reflexes, longer recovery times, etc.

However, a few athletes go on to transcend that taboo by virtue of their brilliant performances, even at an older age. Their showings prove that age is just a number and what matters is performance.

In cricket too, we have seen a few players do extremely well even at an age which is deemed fit for retirement and some even scale heights in the world rankings.

Here, we look at three such bowlers who attained the No. 1 ranking at the age of 40 or more.

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#1 James Anderson - 40 years and 6 months

The latest to achieve this sensational feat is none other than Jimmy Anderson, who has defined longevity over the last few years. The fast bowler, who made his debut way back in 2003, is now the number one-ranked bowler in the ICC rankings.

Anderson, who has featured in 178 test matches over the course of 20 years, reached the summit following his brilliant performance against New Zealand in the recently concluded test match.

Anderson picked up seven wickets in the game at the expense of just 54 runs, which helped England beat the Kiwis by 267 runs. Anderson has now attained the number one position for the sixth time in his career. He is now closing in on 700 Test wickets and will be eyeing that number with the Ashes around the corner.

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#2 Bert Ironmonger - 50 years and 10 months

Bert Ironmonger, who played 14 test matches for Australia between 1928 and 1933, is the oldest bowler to be ranked No. 1 in the ICC rankings.

He made his Test debut at the age of 45 years and 237 days but was quick to make an impact. In the 14 games that he played, he picked up 74 wickets at a brilliant average of 17.97, including four five-wicket hauls.

He had an excellent economy rate of 1.69 as well. Overall, he played 96 first class games, in which he managed to register 464 wickets and picked up 5 wickets on 36 occasions.

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#3 Tich Freeman 41 years and 2 months

Alfred Percy Tich Freeman was an English cricketer who represented his country in 12 test matches between 1924 and 1929.

He achieved the number one ranking at the age of 41 years and 2 months. He took 66 wickets in 12 tests at a phenomenal average of 25.86, including five five-wicket hauls.

Popularly known as "Tich", he is regarded as one of the best slow bowlers to have ever played the game of cricket. He is a first-class cricket legend, having featured in 592 games and picking up 3776 wickets along the way.