James Anderson breaks Glenn McGrath’s record of dismissing most players for ducks in Tests

England legend James Anderson added another feather to his cap in his landmark Test, creating a new record for dismissing most batters for ducks in Test cricket.

The 38-year-old became England’s most-capped Test player during the ongoing England-New Zealand Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. That game marked James Anderson’s 162nd, taking him past former England captain Alastair Cook, who ended his Test career with 161 caps.

On Saturday, Day 3 of the second Test, James Anderson cleaned up Neil Wagner for a duck to go past Australian legend Glenn McGrath and become the bowler to dismiss most players for ducks in Tests.

McGrath sent back 104 batsmen for ducks during his illustrious Test career. James Anderson’s dismissal of Wagner for a blob marked the 105th instance of him dismissing an opposition batsman before they opened their account.

Wagner was James Anderson’s sole victim in New Zealand’s first innings at Edgbaston as he finished with figures of 1 for 68 from 29 overs. Stuart Broad claimed four wickets, while Mark Wood and Olly Stone picked two scalps apiece as England bowled out New Zealand for 388. Earlier, the hosts were all out for 303 in their first innings.

James Anderson closing in on Anil Kumble’s record

James Anderson’s dismissal of Wagner on Saturday was his 617th in Test cricket. He now needs only three wickets to go past Indian legend Anil Kumble on the list of leading wicket-takers in Tests. The England pacer went into the Edgbaston Test against the Black Caps with 616 wickets in 161 Tests, doing so at an average of 26.58 with 30 five-fors and three ten-wicket match hauls.

Meanwhile, Kumble claimed 619 scalps in 132 Tests at an average of 29.65. The former India captain claimed 35 five-fors and eight ten-wicket match hauls during his illustrious career.

James Anderson is fourth on the list of all-time leading Test wicket-takers. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708) and Kumble are ahead of the veteran England pacer.

Earlier, speaking ahead of his record 162nd Test, James Anderson admitted that he had a lot of self-doubts, despite claiming five wickets on debut at Lord’s against Zimbabwe in 2003. Looking back at the start of his Test journey, he reflected:

"I thought I wasn't good enough. I thought it was a huge step-up from county cricket. I remember Nasser didn't have a fine leg for me, and I went for quite a few runs. My first ball was a no-ball as well, so there were a lot of nerves there, and I did feel like this was maybe a step too far for me at that point."

However, over the last decade, James Anderson and Stuart Broad (522 wickets) have gone on to become one of the most lethal fast bowling pairs in Test cricket.