Taking 1,000 first-class wickets is to join one of the most exclusive clubs in sport. Its members require great skill, longevity and relevance – there being no obvious short-cuts to reaching the four-figure mark as James Anderson did at the start of last week.
Anderson was playing his 263rd first-class match and, understandably, there was much fuss when he took his 1,000th wicket at Emirates Old Trafford; Kent’s Heino Kuhn the batsman to fall as Lancashire took an early advantage.
In the province of those who have stayed the course, there are 163 England-qualified bowlers who have reached...