Sir James Anderson: Legendary England pacer awarded knighthood after retirement

Legendary England fast bowler James Anderson has been awarded a Knighthood, becoming.

The latest cricketer from the country to receive the honour. England’s all-time leading wicket-taker was included in former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list — the only sportsperson to be recognised. Anderson joins an elite group of cricketers to be knighted, which includes former England captains Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss.

He became the 13th England cricketer to be awarded a Knighthood for services to the sport and the fifth since 2000 after Ian Botham (2007), Geoffrey Boycott (2019), Cook (2019) and Strauss (2019).

Anderson retired from Test cricket in July 2024, bringing the curtain down on a celebrated career. The right-arm pacer took 704 wickets in Test matches — the most by any fast bowler in the format’s history. The 42-year-old also claimed 269 wickets in one-day internationals and 18 wickets in T20 internationals, cementing his legacy as one of the finest fast bowlers the sport has seen.

Despite his retirement from the international arena, Anderson continues to play county cricket. However, he missed the start of the ongoing County Championship season due to a calf injury. Earlier this year, he went unsold in The Hundred draft and, although named in the long list for the IPL auction, he was not shortlisted by any franchise for the mega auction last year.