Atkinson outdoes Anderson’s farewell with 7-45 on debut

But the veteran, who needed nine wickets to surpass Shane Warne in the list of all-time greatest Test players, had no wickets in that first five-over spell, only to see the rookie, who replaced him at the Pavilion End, take a wicket with his second ball in Test cricket.

Atkinson finished with 7-45 and West Indies were bowled out for 121. England were 3-189 at the end of the match. Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope made half-centuries and built up a lead of 68 on the first day.

When the West Indians were nine runs behind, with Atkinson bowling, the seamer was a wicket away from taking the best figures of any Test debutant. But a couple of boundaries ensured that Albert Trott’s 8-43 for Australia against England at Adelaide in 1895 still stands supreme. And so does Dominic Cork’s best 7-43 for England against the West Indians at Lord’s a century later.

A relieved James Anderson is congratulated after finally getting on the scoreboard at Lord’s. (AP PHOTO)

Instead, it was Anderson who claimed the final wicket, that of Jayden Seales, to the biggest cheer of the day. That took Anderson, who turns 42 later this month, to 701 wickets in his 22-year Test career, a total only bettered by Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Before the performance, the five-minute bell was rung on the balcony of the pavilion by Anderson’s daughters Ruby and Lola, accompanied by his parents and wife.

West Indies, however, refused to play along and had reached 0-34 without alarm when Anderson left the attack. But they were soon 3-43 with Atkinson taking two and top scorer Mikyle Louis (27) dismissed by captain Ben Stokes.

Alick Athanaze (23) and Kavem Hodge (24) added 40, but when Atkinson separated them the tourists collapsed, losing 7-33, with Atkinson at one stage taking three wickets in four balls. England were helped by some excellent catching, particularly from Harry Brook and Pope.

The tourists, who had only one warm-up match, played less well, Crawley escaping a run out before scoring and Ben Duckett dropping one. The latter went down soon after, but Crawley took advantage to make 76. Pope also scored 57 as England built the platform for a commanding first innings lead.