‘The 500’ club of Test cricket

There are only six bowlers in Test history to have taken 500 or more wickets. Jimmy Anderson is the latest entrant to the 500-wickets club and now joins Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh.

Taking 500 Test wickets is more than just a difficult task and the fact that only six bowlers have been able to achieve it shows how hard it is to get there. Some really great pacers like Wasim Akram and Shaun Pollock are missing from this list and it only heightens the prestige of this achievement.

It is always more difficult for a bowler than a batsman to have a long Test career and hence the longevity of all these six bowlers must be lauded. Anderson is already in the 14th year of his career and looks set to continue for a couple more years, if not more. Murali (18 years), Warne (15 years), Kumble (18 years), McGrath (14 years) and Walsh (17 years) all had very long careers. Most of them suffered from serious injuries during their careers but all of them were passionate about playing and bowling despite possessing niggles and aches.

Hence we should doff our hats to all these six great athletes who are part of this exclusive club. Let's take a brief look at them individually.

James Anderson

James Anderson became the latest to get 500 wickets in Test cricket, against the West Indies at Lord’s. Anderson achieved this feat in his 129th Test match and now becomes the only English bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in Tests.

The Lancastrian is renowned for making the red ball swing at will. An Anderson out-swinger to a right-handed batsman is one of the most beautiful things to watch in cricket. This same out-swinger made Virat Kohli miserable during India's tour in 2014. Kohli travels again – this time as India captain in the English summer of 2018. It will be interesting to watch how the second instalment of the rivalry unfolds.

Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in Tests with 800 dismissals

The Sri Lankan maestro is the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket with a mind-blowing 800 scalps, perhaps the most difficult record to break.

Murali was one of the first modern cricketers to possess an unusual bowling action caused due to a birth deformity in his elbow. As a result, he was twice reported for chucking in Australia and was subsequently no-balled.

However, Murali had the last laugh when the ICC cleared his action and he became the tormentor of the Aussies during his entire career. After studying Murali’s case, the ICC changed its previous rule and allowed 15 degrees of flexibility of the bowling arm at the time of delivery.

The Sri Lankan great finished his career with 800 wickets in 133 matches and a record 67 five-wicket hauls. He was undoubtedly one of the main reasons behind Sri Lanka’s Test victories for close to two decades starting from 1992.

Shane Warne

Warne is probably one of the most flamboyant and talented cricketers ever

The Australian spin wizard is arguably the best exponent of leg spin in cricket. He was single-handedly responsible for revitalising the art of leg-spin and bringing it to the forefront once again.

Shane Warne mesmerised everyone with his trademark walk-up to the stumps, his legendary drift and prodigious turn that produced some of the most spectacular dismissals.

The flamboyant leggie, owner of 'the ball of the century' that he bowled to Mike Gatting, had once confessed to having nightmares of Sachin Tendulkar hitting him all over the park. However, there would have been a lot more batsmen who would have had nightmares of Warne dismissing them. Just ask Daryl Cullinan or Andrew Strauss.

The Aussie was as famous for his unruly behaviour off the field as he was for his bowling. He never captained his side although he had an acumen for it – perhaps a direct result of his off-field antics.

The champion leg-spinner finished his career with an astonishing 708 Test scalps in 145 Tests. In addition, he also scored 12 fifties, with 99 being his highest score.

Anil Kumble

Kumble is the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests

Anil Kumble is probably the polar opposite of Shane Warne. If Warne was famous for his turn, Kumble was known for his relentless accuracy and, well, lack of turn. He was nicknamed 'Jumbo' for his ability to make the ball bounce unexpectedly.

Kumble flummoxed batsmen with his pace variations and speed off the pitch. He possessed a deadly flipper that amounted to countless leg-before dismissals.

In 1999, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Kumble created history when he took all 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan and finished with unprecedented figures of 10/74.

Kumble retired after playing in 132 Tests and capturing 619 wickets. He also scored a solitary Test hundred, against England.

Glenn McGrath

McGrath was known for his accuracy as well as sledging

He may not have been the quickest of fast bowers, but Glenn McGrath’s strength was bowling an unwavering line and length in and around off-stump and seducing the batsman into making a mistake.

He made his Test debut for Australia in 1993, however, it was in the series against the West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during 1994-95 that he came into prominence, picking up a whopping 53 wickets.

Later in his career, McGrath gained a reputation for consistently speaking his mind to the batsmen, getting involved in many on-field spats. He also became famous for his bold predictions, invariably prophesying a whitewash for any opposition Australia played against.

He played his last Test in an Ashes series in 2006-07, taking 21 wickets at an average of 23.9 – still at the top of his game. McGrath and Shane Warne were the two wreckers-in-chief for Australia, largely responsible for their side's dominance for more than a decade in all formats of the game. So, it was only fitting that both greats retired on the same day.

McGrath bid adieu to the game having played in 124 Tests, scalping wickets.

Courtney Walsh

Walsh always remained underrated

Courtney Walsh made his Test debut for the West Indies in 1984 against Australia and played alongside Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding. The famous trio was so terrifying and in such great form in that Test that Walsh was not required to bowl in the first innings.

The tall Jamaican was nicknamed ‘Duracell’ for his ability to bowl long spells without getting tired. Walsh retired from Tests at the age of 38 and remains the only fast bowler to have bowled more than 30,000 deliveries in Test cricket. The only other bowlers to have achieved that feat are three spinners – Murali, Warne and Kumble.

The West Indian great was famous for his in-swingers to right-handed batsmen, darting in from wide of the crease. He never felt the need to sledge any batsman as his mere appearance and body language were sufficient to cause 'mental disintegration'.

Together with Curtly Ambrose, the “two C's” arguably formed one of the most lethal fast-bowling partnerships in Test cricket.

Walsh captained the West Indian side in the 90s during a very difficult period for the nation. He retired in 2001 having featured in 132 Tests and scalped 519 wickets. He was the first bowler to breach the 500-wicket mark in Test cricket.