The 41-year-old could be seen fighting back tears at the emotional moment and sported a smile on his face.
Veteran England pacer James Anderson is set to play his farewell match as the Three Lions locked horns with West Indies in the first of the three-match Test series at Lord’s.
Ahead of the match, Anderson’s daughters Lola and Rudy rang the bell at the ‘Home of Cricket’ to announce the start of the play while his family was also in attendance.
The 41-year-old, who is the first-ever seamer to pick up 700 Test wickets, could be seen fighting back a tear at the emotional moment and sported a smile on his face.
It was a special honour for the veteran speedster and his daughters as he was all smiles before the respective national anthems.
Check the video below.
Special moments this morning 🥰🔔#EnglandCricket | @Jimmy9 pic.twitter.com/zEatqbhphq
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 10, 2024
Anderson, playing in his 188th Test match, will retire from international cricket following the conclusion of the first Test against the West Indies, scheduled from July 10 to 14. Nevertheless, Anderson will continue with the team as a mentor for the rest of the season.
Known for ageing like fine wine, Anderson has looked in top form ahead of the West Indies series, taking a seven-wicket haul in a County match, playing for Lancashire.
Anderson, who will be turning 42 at the end of this year might have carried on playing the ongoing season but the hierarchy told Anderson they wanted to make changes as they seek to build a squad keeping in mind the 2025/26 Ashes series in Australia.
The retirement decision was essentially finalized during a meeting in late April with England’s managing director Rob Key, red-ball coach Brendon McCullum, and Test captain Ben Stokes.
Anderson had said, “I had a suspicion that that was going to be the case. I think they were surprised at how calm I was when I reacted. I think I was probably surprised at my reaction. I wasn’t overly emotional about it or angry about it or anything.”
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