James Anderson will receive a knighthood following his services to cricket with England’s greatest-ever fast bowler recognised on Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours listJames Anderson will become a Sir following a sensational careerJames Anderson will become a Sir following a sensational career(Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

James Anderson will receive a knighthood in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list. The 42-year-old was a shining light for England for more than two decades and his contributions will now be recognised.

Anderson was awarded with an OBE medal by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace back in 2016. The Lancashire bowler is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the sport and holds the record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket with 704. He is one of the few fast bowlers to play into his 40s and in February 2023 became the oldest player to top the ICC men’s Test bowling rankings.

Anderson is England’s record Test wicket-taker and also played more Test matches for England than any other player – second only to India’s Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time list.

Anderson’s accolades also see him as England’s highest wicket-taker in One Day Internationals with 269. He eventually called time on his international career in July 2024.

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In April last year, Sunak shared a video on social media of him being put through his paces in the nets as Anderson bowled at the former Prime Minister, who is known to be a huge cricket fan.

England great Sir Andrew Strauss is one of the few cricketers to have received a knighthood and he previously claimed Anderson was more than deserving of the title. Last year, he asked if Anderson was worthy of being knighted and made his view clear as he said: “Very much so! I think any fast bowler that plays 188 Test matches deserves a knighthood, I’ll put it that way.”

Sir Alastair Cook is another of Anderson’s former team-mates to receive a knighthood and the Burnley-born bowler will now join him as well as icons of the game like Sir Geoffrey Boycott.