(AFP Photo)
West Indies initially intended to honor England great James Anderson with a guard of honour, but their plans were sidelined after a jubilant moment at Lord’s led to celebrations that extended “all the way down to Swiss Cottage” instead.
Anderson came out to bat on what appears to be his final match for England, with the West Indies trailing by 171 runs with four wickets remaining at stumps on the second day. Discussions with team management prompted Anderson to declare this Test, his 188th, as his last.
It has become customary in cricket for the fielding team to pay tribute by forming a guard of honour when a distinguished opposing player walks out to bat in their final Test appearance. This tradition was set to unfold on Thursday as the West Indies prepared to honor the retiring No 11, Anderson, who received a standing ovation from a packed Lord’s crowd.
Anderson’s entry onto the field followed a spectacular run out by Mikyle Louis, whose direct hit to dismiss Shoaib Bashir sparked jubilant celebrations among the West Indies players. By the time Anderson, the fast bowler with a record 703 Test wickets to his name, emerged from the Pavilion, only former West Indies captain Jason Holder remained to greet the 41-year-old veteran with a handshake.
“We spoke about it before he came out to bat, that we were going to give him a guard of honour,” said West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales.
“Obviously the run out took us all the way down to Swiss Cottage (the neighbouring district in northwest London to St John’s Wood, in which Lord’s is located), so it was pretty hard to do the guard of honour for the great man. Luckily, Jason caught up with him.”
Anderson, playfully dubbed the ‘Burnley Lara’ due to his roots in northwest England and a nod to the legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara, didn’t get a chance to bat on Thursday. The day ended swiftly when debutant Jamie Smith, showing composure, was dismissed as the final wicket after a solid innings of 70 runs.
“I think the biggest missed opportunity was not seeing Jimmy face one off their left-arm spinner,” said Smith.
“That’s the one regret about my innings. I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t hit one more six to allow him his moment. It’s been an honour play alongside him in my first game. Everyone will miss him when he goes.
“If we’re in a position where he has to bat in the second innings I’d be a bit worried, so hopefully he can get wickets with the ball instead.”
Anderson, playfully dubbed the ‘Burnley Lara’ due to his roots in northwest England and a nod to the legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara, didn’t get a chance to bat on Thursday. The day ended swiftly when debutant Jamie Smith, showing composure, was dismissed as the final wicket after a solid innings of 70 runs.
Anderson, Ben Stokes, and debutant fast bowler Gus Atkinson each claimed two wickets as the West Indies crumbled to 79-6 by the end of Thursday’s play. Their troubles began earlier when they were bowled out for just 121 runs in the first innings of this three-match series.
The West Indies struggled to make any significant impact with the bat, contrasting sharply with Smith’s impressive performance. He struck eight boundaries and two towering sixes, including one that sailed over the Tavern Stand.
“I always like to be aggressive, that’s the way I want to play my cricket — on the front foot,” he said.
