As he stood on the dressing room balcony at Lord’s, delighting the crowd by knocking back a pint of the black stuff after a rollicking farewell win, Jimmy Anderson drank in the love of his teammates and the gratitude of a nation. Over the past 21 years, English cricket – world cricket, even – has been pretty blessed to witness his pure genius.
It never ran dry, either. Even during the final throes of this troublingly one-sided first Test against West Indies – wrapped up by an innings and 114 runs just 64 minutes into its third day – Anderson’s best was still there to be savoured. His removal of Joshua Da Silva in just his second over of the morning, en route to figures of three for 32, was very much plucked from the shelf marked vintage, the ball angling into the right-hander, swinging away at the final split-second and kissing the edge of willow one final time.
