England's James Anderson becomes first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets

Anderson endured a frustrating wait to finally reach the milestone having seen four catches spilled off his bowling in the space of 37 balls between Sunday evening and Monday morning before rain washed out much of the fifth day.

However, he has only Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of him on the list of all-time Test wicket-takers, and is now the only fast bowler to claim 600 Test wickets having dismissed Azhar Ali with a trademark outswinger at just after 1635 on Tuesday afternoon.

Aside from a remarkable Test career that began against Zimbabwe at Lord's back in 2003, Anderson is also England's all-time leading ODI wicket-taker with 269 victims and will surely end up as the most decorated bowler in English history, if not the greatest ever cricketer to hail from these shores.

When Anderson reached the milestone to a mixture of elation and relief, it was fitting that one of the first to congratulate him was his long-time opening bowling partner and close friend, Stuart Broad, who himself passed 500 Test wickets against the West Indies earlier in the summer.

Scroll down for his incredible career in stats

James Anderson 600 wickets: Statistics

• 600 Test wickets
• 156 Tests played
• 290 innings bowled in
• Test debut: 2003
• 29 five wicket hauls
• 3x 10 wickets in a match
• Best innings figures: 7 for 42 v West Indies (Lord's, September 2017)
• Best match figures: 11 for 71 v Pakistan (Trent Bridge, July 2010)
• Bowling average (at the point of 600 wickets): 26.77
• Overs (at the point of 600 wickets): 5619.2
• Runs conceded (at point of 600 wickets): 16058
• Maidens (at point of 600 wickets): 1430
• Four Ashes series wins
• 104 Ashes wickets
• A record 90 not outs with the bat (29 clear of second-placed Courtney Walsh)
• 269 ODI wickets from 194 matches

Scroll down for top 10 wicket takers in Test history

Top 10 Test Wicket Takers In History

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) - 800 in 133 Tests
   Average: 22.72, Best innings figures: 9/51, Best match figures: 16/220
   Five-fers: 67, 10 wickets in a match: 22
2. Shane Warne (Australia) - 708 in 145 Tests
   Average: 25.41, Best innings figures: 8/71, Best match figures: 12/128
   Five-fers: 37, 10 wickets in a match: 10
3. Anil Kumble (India) - 619 in 132 Tests
   Average: 29.65, Best innings figures: 10/74, Best match figures: 14/149
   Five-fers: 35, 10 wickets in a match: 8
4. James Anderson (England) - 600 in 156 Tests
   Average: 26.77, Best innings figures: 7/42, Best match figures: 11/71
   Five-fers: 29, 10 wickets in a match: 3
5. Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 563 in 124 Tests
   Average: 21.64, Best innings figures: 8/24, Best match figures: 10/27
   Five-fers: 29, 10 wickets in a match: 3
6. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) - 519 in 132 Tests
   Average: 24.44, Best innings figures: 7/37, Best match figures: 13/55
   Five-fers: 22, 10 wickets in a match: 3
7. Stuart Broad (England - 514 in 143 Tests
   Average: 27.64, Best innings figures: 8/15, Best match figures: 11/121
   Five-fers: 18, 10 wickets in a match: 3
8. Dale Steyn (South Africa) - 439 in 93 Tests
   Average: 22.95, Best innings figures: 7/51, Best match figures: 11/60
   Five-fers: 26, 10 wickets in a match: 5
9. Kapil Dev (India) - 434 in 131 Tests
   Average: 29.64, Best innings figures: 9/83, Best match figures: 11/146
   Five-fers: 23, 10 wickets in a match: 2
10. Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) - 433 in 93 Tests
    Average: 28.07, Best innings figures: 9/127, Best match figures: 14/184
    Five-fers: 34, 10 wickets in a match: 9