Like those hippy wigs in Woolworths mentioned at the end of Withnail and I, they were selling limited edition Jimmy Anderson last Test merchandise on day one at Lord’s. The greatest two and a bit decades of English seam bowling in history are nearly over, man, and for a mere £60 punters could get their hands on a commemorative hoodie.
How long Anderson’s grand farewell lasts may hinge on the weather in St John’s Wood over the coming days, England having dominated the early exchanges against West Indies. They also did so in a manner that lent weight to the decision by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to reboot the Test side this summer, with the newcomer Gus Atkinson bursting out of his cellophane wrapping to take seven sparkling wickets.
