James Anderson Becomes First Fast Bowler To Take 600 Test Wickets: 200 Short Of Murali

England's James Anderson has made history by becoming the first fast bowler to take 600 wickets in Test match cricket.

The 38-year-old dismissed Pakistan captain Azhar Ali on day five of the drawn third #raisethebat Test at The Ageas Bowl to join a club previously occupied by only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets), Shane Warne (708) and Anil Kumble (619).

Anderson reached the milestone in his 156th Test match, over 17 years after he took his first wicket by bowling Zimbabwe batsman Mark Vermeulen on his Test debut at Lord's in May 2003.

Anderson was made to wait for his 600 milestone moment, with four catches dropped off his bowling in a rain-affected Test, before he finally made history with the wicket of Azhar on day five - getting the ball to rear up off a length and take the edge through to Joe Root at slip.

Anderson has taken 29 Test five-wicket hauls for England, including in the first innings of the current Test against Pakistan, and 10 wickets in a match on three occasions - twice at Trent Bridge and once at Headingley.

The Lancashire seamer overtook Sir Ian Botham as England's leading Test wicket-taker against West indies in the Caribbean in 2015, when Denesh Ramdin edged to slip in Antigua to become his 384th victim.

Sky Sports