England win over West Indies as Jimmy Anderson ends Test profession

England took just 64 minutes to take West Indies’ final four wickets on the third morning of the first Test, sending Jimmy Anderson into the sunset with a comprehensive innings-and-114-run win.

Anderson had taken the field through a guard of honour formed by both teams, pausing to shake the hand of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and acknowledging a standing ovation of another packed house at Lord’s. It was a poignant moment, not least because no one expected his long Test career to extend beyond lunch. This really was it.

He began, from the Nursery End, with a harmless over full of width and grimaces. Then, only 10 minutes in, came a moment of Anderson magic: lured by swing into aiming for leg, Josh Da Silva was undone by seam movement that caught the edge. Jamie Smith did the rest, and Anderson had Test wicket No 704.

At this point, the crowd might have been torn between more quick wickets and the desire for a bit of cricket to take them into Friday afternoon. Instead, they were soon celebrating Gus Atkinson’s 10th wicket of a remarkable debut, as the shot-a-ball Alzarri Joseph top-edged a hook and was superbly caught by a tumbling Ben Duckett at long leg.

From 96 for eight, it was now only a question of whether Anderson could sign off with one last five-for. It was not to be: Shamar Joseph stepped away as he aimed something violent at Atkinson, and lost his off stump to a ball of yorker length.

James Anderson signed off from Test cricket with one final wicket as England beat West Indies

Anderson was given a guard of honour by both teams as he made his way out at Lord’s

Anderson acknowledged a standing ovation at Lord’s as his Test career drew to a close

Anderson was left anguished after dropping Gudakesh Motie off his own bowling 

Gus Atkinson claimed his fifth wicket of the innings and finished with match figures of 12 for 106

Anderson offered a wave to the crowd as he walked off for the final time in a Test match

As Anderson handed his sweater to umpire Rod Tucker, spectators stirred in anticipation. And they almost had the conclusion they craved. From the first ball of the over, Gudakesh Motie offered a beguilingly slow return catch to Anderson’s left. Instead of grabbing it with both hands, he stuck out only one, and collapsed to his knees in anguish as the ball hit the turf.

Motie carved a few runs to take West Indies past their first-innings 121, before Jayden Seales perished at deep midwicket, trying to hit Atkinson into the Grand Stand. That gave Atkinson his fifth wicket of the innings, and match figures of 12 for 106, an analysis bettered by only three debutants in the long history of Test cricket.

But this was all about Anderson, who finished with tally of 704 wickets at 26.45, and the gratitude of a nation. As he walked off one last time, there cannot have been dry eyes in St John’s Wood.