James Anderson the master sends his theatre into raptures once again | Tanya Aldred


England’s talismanic bowler caught the guts of Old Trafford with an around-the-wicket beauty to dismiss Dean Elgar

The James Anderson End – an elegy in four words. Or six balls. Except it isn’t. There is nothing elegiac about James Anderson, despite entering his fifth decade, despite his 100th home Test, despite a touch of grizzlement about the beard. He has got 664 Test wickets under the belt and is taking a smart right turn straight towards the next milestone.

This could be his last Test at Old Trafford. Except it won’t be. The fourth Ashes Test next July has his name all over it, as he stands slim as a broom handle at the end of his mark, white wristbands dipped in Dettol, shirt smoothed into trousers.

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