All things being equal the English Test batting and bowling all-time records should be broken this summer. Jimmy Anderson needs 4 wickets to overtake Ian Botham's 383 wickets so barring a major injury, that should happen in the Caribbean. Anderson is 15th in the All-Time list (Botham 14th) Alastair Cook needs 668 more runs to overhaul Graham Gooch's 8900 in the 10 tests (3 in West Indies, 2 against New Zealand and 5 Ashes tests). Cook is 21st in the All-Time list (Gooch 13th - Michael Clarke the only current player between Gooch and Cook) Current Batting Records (before 1st Test in West Indies): 8900 - Graham Gooch 8463 - Alec Stewart 8423 - Alastair Cook 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Current Bowling Records 383 - Sir Ian Botham 380 - Jimmy Anderson 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 264 - Stuart Broad
Current Batting Records: 8900 - Graham Gooch 8463 - Alec Stewart 8434 - Alastair Cook 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott
James Anderson has overtaken Ian Botham to become the leading wicket taker in Tests for England. Anderson went into this, his 100th Test, with 380 victims. But the wicket of Marlon Samuels drew him level with Botham's previous mark of 383, which has stood since 1986, before he dismissed Denesh Ramdin, edging to Alastair Cook at slip, in the final session as England pressed for victory to set a new benchmark.
Current Batting Records (after 1st Test in West Indies): 8900 - Graham Gooch 8463 - Alec Stewart 8447 - Alastair Cook 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Current Bowling Records 384 - Jimmy Anderson 383 - Sir Ian Botham 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 267 - Stuart Broad
Anderson's record is worthy of praise. It's very hard for pace bowlers these days. They can little rest because of the constant demands of international cricket (all formats), so it's a miracle he has stayed fit most of the time. His great skills are the ability to swing the new ball both ways and then bowl reverse swing or cutters with the old ball. In English type conditions, he is very hard to play. He is comfortably the best in the world. But like most fast bowlers, he suffers from there being too many flat pitches elsewhere around the world where teams can score 500 without too much trouble. Without the express pace of a bowler like Steyn , it is very hard to take wickets on those pitches (as yesterday proved). So 384 wickets in 100 Tests (when he only took 60 in his first 20 at an average of nearly 40) is pretty remarkable in modern cricket.
Current Batting Records (after the 2nd test in West Indies): 8900 - Graham Gooch 8582 - Alastair Cook 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Alistair Cook passed Sir Viv Richards and Alec Stewart during the 2nd test (and is only 4 runs short of Virender Sehwag) Current Bowling Records 390 - Jimmy Anderson 383 - Sir Ian Botham 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 272 - Stuart Broad Jimmy Anderson now level with Makhaya Ntini
Joe Root now has 2,056 runs from 24 tests at an average of 57.11 He is the 2nd youngest Englishman to pass 2,000 test runs (Cook quickest)
After his hundred in the 3rd test, Alastair Cook moved above Sehwag and Hayden in the all-time list and to within 213 of Gooch Current Batting Records: 8900 - Graham Gooch 8687 - Alastair Cook 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott
Position after West Indies Series: Current Batting Records 8900 - Graham Gooch 8691 - Alastair Cook 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Cook is now 17th in the all-time list and needs 231 to pass Gooch Ian Bell has 7,311 runs and is 9th in the English stats (39th overall) Current Bowling Records 397 - Jimmy Anderson 383 - Sir Ian Botham 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 274 - Stuart Broad Anderson is now 12th in the all-time list - Broad is 32nd
Yes that's right - here is the position after 1st test at Lords: Current Batting Records 8900 - Graham Gooch 8869 - Alastair Cook 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Cook is now 14th in the all-time list and needs 32 to pass Gooch Ian Bell has 7,341 runs and is 9th in the English stats (39th overall) Current Bowling Records 399 - Jimmy Anderson 383 - Sir Ian Botham 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 280 - Stuart Broad Anderson is still 12th in the all-time list - Broad is 32nd
Congratulations to Alastair Cook who passed Graham Gooch's record on the second day at Headingley - great reception from the Yorkshire crowd Current Batting Records 8944 - Alastair Cook 8900 - Graham Gooch 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott Cook is now 13th in the all-time list (Graeme Smith next in his sights on 9265 - the only player left above Cook under 10,000)
Current Batting Records (after 1st Test in Cardiff) 9032 - Alastair Cook 8900 - Graham Gooch 8463 - Alec Stewart 8231- David Gower 8181 - Kevin Pietersen 8114 - Geoffrey Boycott 7728 - Michael Atherton 7624 - Colin Cowdrey Alastair Cook is now 13th in the all-time list and needs 234 to pass Graeme Smith Ian Bell has 7,415 runs and is 9th in the English stats, He is 39th overall (needs 8 to pass David Boon)
Current Bowling Records 406 - Jimmy Anderson 383 - Sir Ian Botham 325 - Bob Willis 307 - Fred Truman 297 - Derek Underwood 292 - Stuart Broad Anderson is 11th in the all-time list - Broad is 30th
Joe Root might not be on these lists yet, but 28 Tests and almost 2,500 runs @ 56.06 is as good as nearly anyone who has played the game
