Record last-wicket stand is Anderson fairytale

Monday, 14 July 2014 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: England number 11 James Anderson enjoyed a remarkable batting first on Saturday as he and Joe Root shared an all-time test record 10th-wicket stand of 198 on the penultimate day of the first match against India. The pair surpassed the previous best of 163 as the home side were bowled out for 496 in their first innings. India then reached the close of play on 167 for three, a lead of 128 runs. The 23-year-old Root hit a magnificent unbeaten 154, his fourth test century, while Anderson made a career-best 81, his maiden test half-century and the test record for an England number 11. “I had really good fun today and it’s probably the first day I have really enjoy batting,” fast bowler Anderson told reporters. “We just seemed to get on a roll last night and overnight we both thought that we could actually annoy the Indians today and stay out there a little bit.

“But obviously we didn’t think anything like this would happen,” added the fast bowler after also claiming the test record for the longest innings by a number 11 - 230 minutes. Yorkshireman Root was full of praise for his 31-year-old Lancastrian partner. “For Jimmy to bat like that was unbelievable,” he said. “I actually quite enjoyed batting with Jimmy. “It’s the only time he’s nice to me. He’s normally quite grumpy and having a go at me so it makes a nice change.” Australia’s Phil Hughes and Ashton Agar shared the previous record last-wicket partnership, ironically on the same Trent Bridge ground last year. Root and Anderson’s stand also meant it was the first time in test history that the last-wicket partnerships of both teams had reached three figures in the same game, following Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami’s alliance of 111 on Thursday. The Trent Bridge test is the first in a five-match series.