Great Anderson signs off in style

By Jo Harman

July 10-12, Lord’s Cricket Ground, 1st Test Match

West Indies 121 (Louis 27, Atkinson 7-45, Stokes 1-14) & 136 (Motie 31*, Athanaze 22, Atkinson 5-61, Anderson 3-32) England 371 (Crawley 76, Smith 70, Seales 4-77, Motie 2-41)

England won by an innings & 114 runs

Toss: England, who elected to field Officials: Nitin Menon, Rod Tucker, Adrian Holdstock, Javagal Srinath, Russell Warren

England married the old and the new in a clinical thrashing of West Indies at Lord’s, James Anderson bidding farewell with a final masterclass and Gus Atkinson giving a glimpse of what’s to come in a thrilling debut.

Anderson was always going to be the headline act in his 188th and last Test appearance and the 41-year-old duly delivered by taking 3-32 in the visitors’ second innings to end his career with 704 wickets. But he shared the stage with Atkinson, the Surrey speedster, who followed his first-innings haul of 7-45 with 5-61 in the second to record the best match figures by an England debutant for 134 years and bowl the hosts to victory by an innings and 114 runs before lunch on day three. West Indies dis not manage to bat the length of an ODI innings in either of their attempts, while England appeared slightly more measured than previously, scoring at a relatively modest 4.12 runs per overs across 90 overs.

Anderson missed the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Stuart Broad and claim a wicket with his final delivery in Test cricket when he shelled Gudakesh Motie off his own bowling, but he had earlier given the Lord’s crowd a last memory to savour when he nicked off Joshua Da Silva with a trademark outswinger, adding to the two dismissals he had taken on day two and his solitary first-innings scalp.

“I tried to enjoy the week,”

Anderson told Sky Sports after the match. “I just wanted to enjoy every minute, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy doing something I’ve loved for 20-odd years. Thankfully it swung a little bit at times and the pitch did enough throughout the game to test the batters out.

“I got a little bit emotional walking onto the field when the two teams were lined up [for the guard of honour on day three]. I just tried to settle in and get wickets. Maybe I tried a bit too hard towards the end. Forgot to put my hands up and dropped a catch!”

Anderson, who will continue to be part of the England set-up this summer in a mentoring capacity, paid tribute to Atkinson, who was named Player of the Match.

“It’s downhill from here after 12 on debut! What an amazing week he’s had. The thing I love about Gus, he went to India in the winter, didn’t play, but worked so hard on his game and his run-up. He’s going to be an amazing cricketer for England. We’ve got a great group of young bowlers coming through. I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

England’s victory was never in doubt from the moment they skittled West Indies for 121 on day one, Atkinson opening the floodgates by dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite with his second delivery and later bowling a triple-wicket maiden in a spectacular start to his Test career.

The hosts were already 68 runs ahead by stumps and only three wickets down, with Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57) making half-centuries before Joe Root (68), Harry Brook (50) and debutant Jamie Smith (70) did the same on day two to give England a first-innings lead of 250.

Each of the five half centuries was fluent, but the 23-year-old Smith’s was perhaps the most eye-catching innings, as he came into the side to replace Ben Foakes, ostensibly to ensure an England wicket-keeper could bat with the tail while playing a more expansive game. Smith ticked every box, starting off steadily when in company of Root and Woakes but opening his shoulders later on, hitting two huge sixes, one of which went clean out of the ground. England added 42 runs for the last three wickets without their numbers 9, 10 or 11 scoring a run.

Smith’s keeping was also blemish-free, with four catches taken and no byes conceded on a ground that is notoriously hard for keepers with the ball often swinging after it passes the bat.

The Windies’ inexperienced batting line-up slumped to 79-6 by stumps, Anderson dismissing Brathwaite for the eighth times in Tests before outfoxing Alick Athanaze. Ben Stokes chipped in with two in an otherwise quiet match for the England skipper – although his willingness to bowl long spells bodes well for the balance of the side –, and Atkinson upped his match tally to nine to leave the tourists staring down the barrel.

The third and final day began with an emotional guard of honour for Anderson, who bowled unchanged from the Nursery End and gave England supporters a reminder of what they’ll be missing with a peach to send Da Silva on his way.

Then it was over to Atkinson, who picked up the final three wickets to complete his dozen, Ben Duckett nonchalantly catching Jayden Seales on the midwicket boundary to seal the victory.

“I just want to say thanks to Jimmy,” said Atkinson in the post-match presentation. “Playing here in his last Test has been incredible. Growing up, Jimmy was someone I’d come here to Lord’s to watch. I was at mid-off looking over at Jimmy running in thinking,

‘I’ve seen this so many times on TV’. What’s so good with this group is you’re allowed to come in and be the player you want to be.”

The series now moves to Trent Bridge, with the second Test beginning on Thursday. Life without James Anderson might seem unthinkable for many England fans, but Stokes insisted the future is in good hands, praising the immediate impact of Atkinson and Smith.

“Before the game starts, it’s always amazing seeing two young lads with a boatload of talent receive those caps,” said the England captain. “For them to go on and put in performances like they did is very pleasing. The future for those two is looking very good.”